Former Cleveland Police Officer Who Featured on TV Accused of Relationship With Vulnerable Woman...
- 13 minutes ago
- 2 min read
3rd August 2026
A former Cleveland Police officer who appeared in Channel 5’s fly-on-the-wall documentary Inside the Force: 24/7 is due to face a misconduct hearing over allegations he entered into an inappropriate sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman he met through his policing duties.
Former PC 2878 Ben Burgess, who has since resigned from Cleveland Police, will appear before a misconduct panel at Scotswood House in Thornaby on Monday, August 10, 2026. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10am.
Burgess previously appeared in the ninth episode of the third series of Inside the Force: 24/7, broadcast on Channel 5 on May 13, 2024.
The episode followed Cleveland Police officers dealing with drug and alcohol-related incidents across Middlesbrough.
Burgess was shown responding alongside several other officers after two plain-clothes officers became involved in a struggle with a man suspected of offering them crack cocaine. Officers arrested the suspect and subsequently searched an address where further suspected crack cocaine and a quantity of cash were reportedly discovered.
His appearance on the nationally broadcast programme came just weeks before the alleged period said to be covered by the misconduct allegations.
Alleged Relationship With Vulnerable Domestic Abuse Victim
According to a public notification issued by Cleveland Police, Burgess is alleged to have established an inappropriate sexual relationship with a woman between July 9 and July 22, 2024.
The woman, who’s only referred to as “Ms A” and whose identity is protected by reporting restrictions, is described as a vulnerable victim of domestic abuse whom Burgess encountered while carrying out his duties as a police officer.
It’s alleged that Burgess subsequently failed to disclose the full circumstances of the relationship to Cleveland Police, including its alleged sexual nature.
The former officer is also accused of failing to report a number of alleged offences which were disclosed to him by Ms A.
These allegedly included a report that a child had been subjected to a domestic assault and messages indicating that Ms A was in possession of an XL Bully dog.
The hearing notice also refers to photographs allegedly sent to Burgess on July 12, 2024, which appeared to show two children travelling without seatbelts and Ms A using a mobile phone while driving.
Around 250 Messages Allegedly Exchanged
Cleveland Police also allege that Burgess continued communicating with Ms A despite being given what the force describes as a lawful order by Detective Sergeant Houchen on July 17, 2024, to cease contact with her.
It is alleged that Burgess met Ms A during the night of July 21 and 22 and exchanged approximately 250 messages with her on July 22.
The allegations are said to amount to breaches of several Standards of Professional Behaviour, including:
Discreditable conduct;
Honesty and integrity;
Authority, respect and courtesy; and
Duties and responsibilities.
Cleveland Police has assessed the allegations as amounting to gross misconduct if proved.
The hearing will take place at Scotswood House, Thornaby Place, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 6SB where its claimed he could be placed on the Police Barred register if the findings are proven, preventing him from ever re-applying to be a police officer in any part of the country.
