A former detective with Thames Valley Police dragged a woman by the hair while on a night out in Windsor.

Jessica Covey quit the force last October.

She subsequently pleaded guilty to a public order offence at Reading Magistrates' Court.

On April 15 last year, her and a group of friends were involved in a fight with another group of women at the Scotch Bar in Windsor.

An internal police enquiry has now ruled that, were Covey still a detective, she would have been immediately dismissed for her conduct.

The enquiry's report describes the events surrounding the fight.

It states: "Following the altercation, former DC Covey and her friends exited the bar at the same time as the other group.

"Once outside, the hostilities continued, and several females from both groups became embroiled in a fight, which was eventually broken up by door staff."

Covey confronted a 'blonde-haired female' who had attacked a friend of hers, and pushed her to the ground.

There was then a verbal argument, at which point the police were called.

This did not deter Covey, who - in the presence of officers - grabbed the blonde woman by the hair and pulled her to the ground.

She was arrested, and admitted to a public order offence at Reading Magistrates' Court in December.

Magistrates handed Covey a year-long conditional discharge, and she was ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £26 surcharge.

While the former detective accepted that her actions amounted to gross misconduct, she emphasised that her and her friends had been provoked on the night of the incident.

The misconduct report states: "On behalf of the former officer, PC McIntyre stated that, in mitigation for the behaviour, former DC Covey and her friends had received a barrage of homophobic abuse inside the licenced premises [the Scotch Bar], and that her friend and girlfriend had been assaulted.

"Assistance had been sought from door staff, but they had not received the help they needed.

"The former officer stated that she had intended to diffuse the situation, but had shown an error of judgement with regard to how she had behaved."

Despite this, police internal investigators still ruled that the only appropriate course of action would be dismissal - were Covey still a serving officer.

They further noted that, four months prior to the fight at the Scotch Bar, Covey had been involved in another alcohol-fuelled altercation while on a night out.

In this instance, the force did not discipline Covey, instead serving her a notice to reflect on her own behaviour.

Although Covey's conduct off-duty was found to be disreputable, the report's authors highlighted her stellar record as a police officer.

She was described as 'enthusiastic, hardworking and a supportive team player.'