Is it a crime to fall in love? The affair that rocked Greater Manchester Police

On December 8th 2018 PC Dean Birkhead took a statement from a woman who was an alleged victim of domestic violence. It ultimately changed his life forever.

He went on to organise the arrest of the suspect - the woman's then husband - and his re-arrest when he breached his bail conditions. The victim was impressed with his swift action after previously being left hanging on the 101 line when calling GMP.

In just five days she had PC Birkhead's personal mobile number. A relationship between the pair would blossom in the weeks that followed.

That led to an affair, the story of which, like so many relationships in this era, was captured on their phones.

Then the affair came to light. And PC Birkhead stood accused of using his position to take advantage of a 'vulnerable' woman.

There was the picture of the woman in the bikini on his phone. There was the romantic break they had enjoyed in Grasmere. There were the Manchester City matches they had been to together. And there was the photo of them together which she had captioned 'hot stuff us baby'.

PC Birkhead was initially arrested, and then found himself fighting for his job in a gross misconduct hearing which pored over his and the woman's liaisons - including when they first had sex - in excruciating detail.

It raised a big question - is it a crime to fall in love? And it reached an unexpected conclusion, after the woman told the hearing that that there was 'no question of him stepping over the mark or being involved in something I didn't want to', that she was, in the words of his barrister, 'a consenting adult, a powerful woman who knows her own mind'.

The hearing ended with PC Birkhead being allowed to keep his job - an outcome which has shocked some senior figures in