A former Somerset police officer has been jailed after a court heard he shared pictures of a murder victim with family and friends on WhatsApp.

Ex-PC Lewis Wood, 43, pleaded guilty to three counts of misconduct in a public office after a court heard he sent images and videos of a number of incidents he attended while a serving officer for Avon and Somerset Police.

The images he shared between December 2018 and August 2020 included those showing the body of 39-year-old Paul Wells, who was murdered in Highbridge in 2020, Exeter Crown Court was told.

For evidential purposes, Wood lawfully recorded body-worn video footage and took still images on his work mobile phone at the crime scene in June 2020. 

However, a month later he used his personal phone to illegally share some of the legitimate material he had captured, the court heard. 

Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall said Wood’s actions were ‘horrific’ and reiterated a public apology to those involved for the distress caused.

Wood’s employment with Avon and Somerset Police ended in 2021.

ACC Hall said: “Lewis Wood’s horrific actions will rightly shock and disgust members of the public, who place their trust with the police, as well as his former colleagues.

“We are truly sorry for what has happened. We appreciate no words we can offer can make up for the distress this will have unquestionably caused them.”

In mitigation, the court was told Wood’s motivation for sharing them was to demonstrate to people he knew and trusted what he was having to regularly face, while struggling with his own wellbeing.

It was also said he was remorseful and sorry for his actions. Wood, from Bridgwater, received a 28-month prison sentence.

Judge James Adkin said the number of incidents showed this was a habit of Wood and ‘not a one-off’ and recognised the significant impact this had had on the victims. 

He said while there may have been occasions Wood was seeking support in sharing details of incidents with family and friends, at others he was just seeking personal validation.

ACC Hall added: “Every day, frontline officers especially, can be faced with unspeakably difficult and traumatic situations.

“It is important we provide support to our employees, because policing is not a job where you can always go home at the end of the day and easily forget about what you have witnessed.

“This in no way though should detract from what Lewis Wood did.”