A CHESHIRE Police community support officer has been dismissed from the force after assaulting a woman.

The PCSO, who has not been named, attacked the victim while off duty in July 2020.

And they were ‘dismissed with immediate effect’ earlier this month following misconduct proceedings, which were held in private due to PCSOs being counted as members of staff rather than officers.

But they will not face criminal charges despite an investigation, as the incident was only reported to the constabulary in December 2020 – and was therefore ‘outside the six-month prosecution time limit’.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: “This relates to an off-duty incident which involved a staff member in July 2020. The incident was not reported at the time, but Cheshire Police were made aware in December of that year.

“The matter was criminally investigated, but it was outside the six-month prosecution time limit. The member of staff was dealt with under the managing performance procedure for police staff.

“As a result, they were dismissed after they were found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy.”