Police chief beats wine challenge

Chief constable Della Cannings was buying wine while in her uniform

A chief constable had to shed part of her uniform to buy wine from a supermarket.

Della Cannings of North Yorkshire Police was told it was illegal to sell alcohol to on-duty police officers.

But checkout staff at Tesco in Northallerton relented when Ms Cannings took off her hat and epaulettes and said she was no longer on duty.

Tesco said its staff were right to refuse the sale even though the law will be repealed next year.

"It's something that happens rarely so it shows our checkout operators are on the ball when it comes to these kinds of issues," a spokesman said.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "The whole incident was resolved satisfactorily and the chief constable does not wish to make any further comment."