Theft arrest police officer quits

Ch Insp Sharon Rowe was told she would not be charged in October 2008

A senior Sussex Police officer arrested on suspicion of shoplifting wine has resigned, it has been announced.

Ch Insp Sharon Rowe was accused in September 2008 of stealing from a Marks and Spencer store in Shoreham, West Sussex, with Det Ch Insp Jim Torbet.

In November the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced it was "not in the public interest" to prosecute her.

Ms Rowe had been due to face a disciplinary hearing this week in connection with the incident.

'No further action'

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said: "Sussex Police has received and accepted the resignation of Chief Inspector Sharon Rowe.

"With effect from today she is no longer a serving officer and there will therefore be no further action in relation to any alleged misconduct."

Mr Torbet and Ms Rowe were arrested in September and accused of stealing wine from the Marks and Spencer store in Shoreham.

Both were suspended from their jobs.

Ms Rowe became the first woman to reach the rank of inspector in Brighton and Hove in 1998 after joining the police service in 1986.

Mr Torbet, 54, was found dead at his home in Peacehaven, East Sussex, in "non-suspicious" circumstances in October 2008.

His death came five years after his 19-year-old daughter, Rae Torbet, was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend, forklift truck driver Dellwyn James, at her flat in Bexhill.