A Bognor Regis police sergeant who visited women for sex romps during his night shifts has been sacked from the force.

Alan Ward, an officer with Sussex Police, admitted to a misconduct hearing that he met two women on 27 out of 56 shifts between January and September. He had been reported by colleagues, police revealed.

It was found that he had breached professional standards in Chief Constable Giles York’s ruling and he was dismissed without notice.

Ward, 40, who joined the police in 2001, was tracked by officers from the professional standards department using the GPS on his police radio.

On 6 October, after a tip about his absences, officers found him at an address in the town having sex with a woman while on duty.

Assistant Chief Constable Laurence Taylor said: “This officer’s actions fell woefully short of the expectations of Sussex Police and the public he was meant to serve.

“I am pleased that our confidential reporting system, through which this was first reported, demonstrated that his colleagues were similarly as disappointed by his behaviour.”