Paul Hinchcliffe: Cop spends first weekend behind bars and branded "a disgrace to the uniform"

And while he comes to terms with his eight month prison sentence, he has been branded “a disgrace to the uniform”.

It is just one of many comments from disappointed members of the public, who have shared their thoughts on the disgraced cop on South Yorkshire Police’s Facebook page.

Pauline Hollingworth posted: “Disgrace to the uniform, appalling human being.”

Stephen Reaney described the officer as a “disgrace to humanity”.

But David Harrison urged people to not tar all officers with the same brush. He posted: said: “Every barrel has a few rotten ones. Don’t tar all our police with the same brush. Well done to SYP for rooting out the bad ones.”

Hinchcliffe, 46, was off duty and drinking in The Church House in Wath when he made sexually suggestive comments towards the victim, flicked beer foam from the top of his pint at her chest area, before pulling down her top and taking a photograph.

Hinchcliffe, who worked in training, was convicted of one count of sexual assault following a trial in January and later resigned from the force. On Friday he was sentenced to eight months in prison and has been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years.

At a force misconduct hearing on February 9, Chief Constable Lauren Poultney ruled that had Hinchcliffe still been serving, he would have been dismissed without notice.

He has been placed on the police barred list which means he will never work in policing again.

Chief Constable Poultney said: “This case demonstrates that wrongdoing and poor standards will not be tolerated in South Yorkshire Police. Whether our officers and staff are on duty or not, the public rightly expect us to portray the true values of policing at all times and this former officer fell woefully below these expectations.

“This particular case was investigated following an internal report to our Counter Corruption Unit, which demonstrates the willingness of the vast majority of our workforce to stand up for what is right. Force standards and culture continue to be my top priority and when wrongdoing and poor standards are identified, the perpetrators will be dealt with swiftly and robustly.”