A former Somerset special constable has been barred from policing after claiming she could not remember slashing her partner's tyre with a kitchen knife.

The woman, dubbed SPC X, quit her volunteer role in January ahead of a hearing this week that ruled her dishonesty amounted to gross misconduct.

Her name has been withheld due to her mental health difficulties and to prevent her ex-partner, a police officer, being identified following the domestic incident.

Representing Avon and Somerset Police, Clare Hennessy told the virtual hearing on March 8: "The incident on June 21 last year occurred at the peak of the pandemic. The officer had been self-isolating at her home address. She was shielding.

"In the course of an argument with her then partner she used a kitchen knife to puncture his tyre so he was unable to leave the property.

"They have since split up. Her then partner said she didn't seem herself."

The panel heard that after checking a colleague's bodyworn video camera was not recording their conversation, SPC X admitted slashing her then partner's tyre and asked him not to tell anyone.

Ms Hennessy said the colleague was left "stunned and taken aback" and, feeling compromised by their friendship, reported the criminal damage to his supervisor.

When interviewed, SPC X said she could not remember puncturing the tyre because she had had a breakdown and had no recollection of what happened on the day of the incident.

Ms Hennessy said the former officer's earlier admission to her colleague proved that was untrue.

Misconduct panel chair Anna Vigars said SPC X had deliberately attempted to "minimise her culpability", and ruled that her dishonesty amounted to gross misconduct.

She said any incident involving a knife is serious but ruled that the criminal damage was misconduct, not gross misconduct.

Ms Vigars said SPC X would have been dismissed if she had still been serving.

An anonymity order for SPC X was issued ahead of the hearing.

It was challenged by Ms Hennessy, who argued it was in the public interest to name the former officer.

Ms Vigars agreed but said that was not possible with the risk of identifying the woman's ex-partner, and the panel also had to consider SPC X's long-standing mental health difficulties.

The anonymity order was upheld.

The former officer's name will be placed on the police barred list, preventing her from taking up any future role in the police.