Owen Hurley, an inspector with Hertfordshire Police, sold his police-issue trousers on Vinted for £4, the BBC reports.

He claimed the pair were old and no longer fit him, though a disciplinary hearing noted that he ordered two new pairs in the same size earlier the same year.

Mr Hurley was found guilty of gross misconduct and immediately reduced to the rank of sergeant.

Chief constable Charlie Hall told him: “A member of the public was sufficiently angry to report this. You have described it as a mistake… I would describe it as stupid.”

Social media users, however, described the police force itself as stupid.