A Sussex Police officer has narrowly escaped jail for allegedly making offensive phone calls to his wife and her friend during a marital break up.

PC Richard Rees was given a suspended two-month prison sentence after breaching an injunction banning him from contacting his estranged wife Lynne.

However, 35-year-old Rees, who was suspended from duty in January, still faces the sack after Sussex Police launched an inquiry into his conduct.

He was barred from contacting his wife after she obtained a county court order against him.

But he was hauled before a civil judge and given a suspended sentence for breaching the order over allegations of offensive calls to her and her friend Sandra Crawford. He was also accused of criminal damage.

Rees, based in Crawley, was also facing criminal charges for the same incidents that occurred in December.

However, magistrates decided to dismiss the charges this week because he had effectively been dealt with in the county court at Hove.

Mrs Rees, who lives in Horsham, declined to comment about the case. But her husband, an officer for 12 years and now living in Wales, faces an investigation by fellow officers.

A Sussex police spokesperson said: "He will be subject to an internal misconduct inquiry and could face a tribunal that has the power to sack him or force him to resign."