Rapist officer's girlfriend quits police

Paul Banfield was jailed for 18 years

The girlfriend of a Cambridgeshire police sergeant jailed for rape has resigned from the force after discovering her phone was being tapped.

Tracey Smith, who works in the force's finance department, was asked to check a bill for monitoring her own phone as part of her job.

Cambridgeshire Police are said to be "horrified" that the bill, sent by BT, was passed to Miss Smith.

Her partner, Paul Banfield, was jailed for 18 years for a series of sex attacks, including the rape of a woman at a police station in Cambridge.

Senior officers were concerned that Miss Smith would be in regular contact with Banfield in prison.

Parkside station, where Banfield committed a rape

They were worried in case any sensitive police information was passed on to him.

She has now resigned from her post.

Cambridgeshire Police said the force did not discuss incidents of this kind.

In June Banfield, 33, of St Neots, Cambridgeshire, was convicted of two rapes, an indecent assault and burglary with intent to rape.

He also pleaded guilty to three further indecent assaults.

Banfield raped a woman who was being held in cells at Parkside police station.

He also indecently assaulted two other women being held in cells there and indecently assaulted a former girlfriend at her home.

The jury heard Banfield also raped a 45-year-old divorcee, that he met while on duty in Cambridge city centre, after he broke into her house.