A Lancashire police officer who was cleared of sexually molesting five female colleagues more than two years ago has been sacked by the force following a misconduct hearing. 

PC Anthony Ford, who was based in Burnley, faced trial at Liverpool Crown Court in May 2021, over 13 offences of sexual assault which were alleged to have taken place in 2018 and 2019.

He strongly denied the offences and claimed his behaviour only involved jokey and flirtatious banter.

Following the trial, the jury found PC Ford, of Preston, not guilty of all 13 offences but a senior judge told him that he needed to address his "appalling prehistoric attitudes" towards women.

Before allowing the then 32-year-old officer to leave the dock Judge Andrew Menary, QC, the Recorder of Liverpool told him: “You leave the court as you entered - a man with no previous convictions.

“But I say to you you should not take the verdicts of the jury as some verdict, by your own admission, on how you behaved in the past.

"There is much more to being a police officer than chasing around after drug dealers.

“I don’t know what is going to happen to you, as I say you have been found not guilty and I don’t know if there are pending disciplinary proceedings or not.

“But at the very least I would think that those responsible for you in the police force ought to send you for some sort of diversity training because by own judgement your prehistoric attitudes towards women are quite appalling and you need to consider the way you behaved otherwise you will find yourself at risk of a similar situation in the future.”

Despite being cleared, last month, PC Ford, whose collar number was 4210, faced a misconduct hearing to answer to the allegations of unwanted sexual conduct towards female colleagues. 

It was also alleged this conduct included comments and physical contact which was inappropriate, and as a result it was alleged PC Ford's actions breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour.

The public misconduct hearing took place at Ormskirk police station between October 30 and November 7.

During the hearing, the panel, which included legally qualified chair, Paul Forster; police panel member, Superintendent Justin Srivastava; and independent panel member, Sian Beard, heard evidence against PC Ford and came to the conclusion PC Ford's actions amounted to gross misconduct and breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour.

A notice from the hearing stated: "The panel found the conduct breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour, namely authority, respect and courtesy, equality and diversity and discreditable conduct and amounted to gross misconduct.

"As of November 7, 2023, PC 4210 Ford was dismissed without notice."

During his trial in 2021, it was claimed that PC Ford's behaviour included putting his hand down the back of victims’ trousers, touching their bottoms, undoing the clasps of the bras of two women and walking down the street cupping the breasts of one of them.

Ford, who was then based in Burnley, disputed the women’s evidence and denied that any of his actions were sexually motivated.

Questioned by Miss McNeill he agreed he was a proactive officer, but denied being arrogant. “I am confident but I would not describe myself as arrogant,” he said.

He said he had been surprised at the complaints “particularly having 10 years unblemished career and then five people come forward within a few weeks.”

Ford said: “I never touched a bum except for a laugh or someone had done it to me.”

He described it as “a laugh and a joke between people I deemed on a similar wavelength to him or had done it to me first.”

He said that unclipping bras was “a bit of a childish joke” and said such behaviour happened “on many police do’s”.

He also claimed officers touched each others bottoms in the police station “quite regularly”.

He denied it was behaviour he could not control and described two of the alleged victims as “flirtatious”.

He denied cupping the breasts of one woman and said that he only touched them later to check they were real but that was with her consent.

“Do you feel you have done anything wrong in relation to these women?” asked Miss McNeill.

“No,” he replied.

Richard Orme, defending, had told the jury in his closing speech that Ford was “being made an example of by the politically correct brigade of the police and they have sought to find anything and everything to throw at him.”

He went on to describe the case as “absurd and ridiculous and blown out of all common sense in the brave new world in which we live now.”

Mr Orme said that Ford is “an extrovert and a live wire, particularly in drink and with friends. He has a child-like exuberance.”

He said that a witness had described the defendant as “like a five-year-old on speed who would never run out of energy”.

He had demonstrated tactile behaviour with both men and women and has “a cheeky sense of humour - or used to before this sorry saga.

“Do not hold those personality traits against him, they don’t make him a sex offender.

"He could be over-familiar, over-tactile but that is a million miles away from making him a sex offender.”