The officer, formerly based at Buxton Police Station, was found to have breached police standards of professional conduct in relation to conduct, confidentiality, duties and responsibilities.

He will also be placed on the banned list to prevent him from working for the police in the future.

The investigation began after Derbyshire Constabulary referred a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

It was established that Mr Pearson met the woman on the same day they met, after texting her while he was on duty.

The court heard some of PC Pearson’s messages were of a sexual nature and more than 200 were sent by him while he was at work.

IOPC operations director Steve Noonan said: “PC Pearson abused his authority and position of trust by pursuing an inappropriate emotional relationship with a member of the public he met in the line of duty.

“The aggravating features of this case were that this was not a one-off incident and that he continued to send sexually explicit messages for several months after the woman indicated she was emotionally vulnerable.

“It was also clear from his messages that he knew what he was doing was wrong and could get him in trouble. He is now being held accountable for his actions.”