Married chief constable used police force credit card to entertain his mistress - and skipped meetings to see her

A chief constable used his corporate credit card to pay for meals with his mistress and missed official meetings to be with her, an investigation has found.

Terry Grange, a married father of three, retired from his post at Dyfed-Powys Police last November after the woman made a series of damaging allegations.

She wrote to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in October, two months after their relationship ended.

The woman, identified only as Ms A, gave the IPCC details of 68 liaisons with Mr Grange between November 2006 and August 2007.

She even accompanied him on official force functions 'three or four times' while his wife was at home.

She said that they had exchanged 'politically insensitive' and 'sexually explicit' emails between his force computer system and her account.

Yesterday, the IPCC upheld all four of the

allegations it investigated. Last month, the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Grange, 57, for misconduct in a public office or obtaining monies by deception.

He will not face a police misconduct inquiry because he is retired.

IPCC Commissioner for Wales Tom Davies said: 'This is a sad end to a long and distinguished career.'

Highly respected in senior police circles, Mr Grange had regular dealings with the Government as

spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers on child protection and the management of sex offenders.

He was regarded as a maverick who was prepared to stand up to the Home Office and was a fierce critic of political correctness.

Mr Grange's supporters claim he was the victim of a witch hunt and that he was driven out of the force over relatively trivial matters.

Ms A told the IPCC that her affair with Mr Grange began in November-2006 and ended in August last year. She refused to make an official complaint or give a statement against Mr Grange but provided the IPCC with copies of their emails, a number of which were found to contain 'inappropriate comments and sexual innuendo'.

The IPCC said Mr Grange had abused his position by asking a junior employee to lift a firewall block so he could receive Ms A's emails.

It found that Mr Grange had misusedhis corporate Barclaycard for their meals together and that he had missed two official meetings because he was with Ms A.

It also found errors in his expenses claims.

The IPCC highlighted 'significant failings' in the Dyfed Powys Police credit card scheme and said the police authority needed to ' establish revised robust procedures' for card use and the claiming of expenses. It said staff and officers must be reminded about the proper use of force computers. Dyfed-Powys Police Authority accepted the report's recommendations and admitted it had been 'a difficult time for all concerned'.

A spokesman said: 'The failings were largely those of one man, not the wider organisation.'

The authority said its acceptance of Mr Grange's request for retirement, following 30 years' service, was vindicated by the CPS decision not to prosecute him.