A police officer accused of sexually assaulting a female during a booze-fuelled trip to Alton Towers has been dismissed.

PC Thomas Hall, based at Medway Police Station, was said to have engaged in the non-consensual touching of a female, deemed to be of a "sexual nature", while staying overnight in a hotel.

A police misconduct hearing held at Kent Police headquarters in Northfleet heard a group attended a trip to the theme park on July 15 and 16, 2020.

On arrival, the party went to the Stepping Stones pub for a drinking session before loading up on more booze at an Aldi supermarket for an after party at the family suite they had booked.

Several played drinking games until shortly after midnight but during the course of the evening an argument broke out.

This caused the woman, whose name was withheld to protect her identity, to become upset.

PC Hall attempted to comfort her and offered to escort her back to her own room.

Both had been drinking and the woman said when questioned the room was spinning "a little bit but not massively".

She said she was comfortable in the company of PC Hall and both agreed there had not been any sexual contact between them before.

The male officer, who was engaged at the time, admitted to engaging in "cuddling" and "spooning" with the female, in an effort to make her feel better.

But in an account of the night, the woman claimed to have woken up to find PC Hall fondling her breasts and "squeezing" her.

She said: "After we had gone to bed I woke up to PC Hall running his hands over me and touching my breasts."

She said she didn't react or protest as she was "scared and in shock as to what happened".

She then described a hand tucking itself under the waistband of her shorts and her underwear. She claims she did not consent to the touching.

The victim then told someone the next day who asked if she wanted to file a complaint and attend a police station.

A police misconduct hearing was asked to consider whether PC Hall's actions breached the standards of professional behaviour in relation to authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct.

PC Hall, who was 18 months into the role at the time of the incident, denied the allegations.

He said the woman was clearly "very distressed" which is why he had escorted her back to her room.

He said: "I took my jeans off and got into bed. She went into the bathroom and then joined me.

"We just spoke about her home life. There was no sexual conversation at all."

PC Hall told the hearing the conversation consisted mainly of idle "chit-chat" but they also discussed problems the woman was experiencing.

The conversation lasted around an hour before the pair went to sleep.

Before then, they engaged in some "spooning" – a type of cuddle where two people lie facing the same direction.

'We just spoke about her home life. There was no sexual conversation at all...'

"I was the big spoon and she was the little spoon. She didn't object, she just said okay and that was it.

"She didn't seem uncomfortable or put out like she was not happy to do that."

He added: "It felt like the appropriate thing to do to comfort her. There was no sexual intent or motivation whatsoever.

"Looking back it was the wrong thing to do but at the time I thought I was doing the right thing."

Police misconduct panel chairman Arwell Jones said it was important when evaluating the evidence not to draw "unwarranted assumptions" related to how different people react in certain situations, any inconsistencies, drinking, the display of emotions or lack thereof.

Barrister Nicholas Yeo, acting for PC Hall, said the woman's recollection had been a "vague, imagined account" riddled with inconsistencies which had been dreamed up while in a "sleepy tipsy state".

But fellow barrister Simon Walsh said for the woman it was not a dream but a living "nightmare".

He put it to PC Hall that he had "overstepped" the mark and had only attempted to redress for his actions when the woman became evasive and jittery the next day.

The panel found that on the balance of probabilities the events, as described by the woman, did take place.

"Those who suffer from sexual abuse can suffer the consequences for a long time afterwards", said Panel chair Arwell Jones.

"The people of Kent would be appalled to learn of how one of their officers was behaving."

The panel took into consideration several mitigating factors including good character references and testimony from PC Hall's colleagues which said he was a trustworthy and hard working team member.

But in reaching its conclusion, the panel said it was "greatly concerned" by PC Hall's actions whilst off duty and also took into account his continued denial of the allegation, which he dismissed as a made-up "dream", as indicating his lack of remorse.

It concluded therefore that PC Hall's actions had amounted to gross misconduct and therefore warranted his immediate dismissal without notice.

The panel said this was the only satisfactory course of action to maintain public confidence in the police.

Detective Superintendent John Phillips, from Kent Police’s Professional Standards Department, said: "Hall’s behaviour was completely inappropriate and demonstrated a serious lack of respect, and decency.

'We expect the highest standards of conduct and professionalism from our officers and staff at all times...'

"His conduct seriously undermines the trust the public can have in him to complete his duties in line with the standards expected of him. We took immediate steps to suspend him from duties, review all available evidence and put the case to an independent chair.

"Upon hearing the evidence, the independent chair dismissed him without notice. We will now take steps to ensure Hall never works in a policing environment again.

"We expect the highest standards of conduct and professionalism from our officers and staff at all times.

"The vast majority of our employees serve in line with these expectations, and do an outstanding job serving the communities they represent. Those who fall short, however, will always be held accountable."