Three off-duty police officers caught on CCTV taking part in Bournemouth pitch invasion

Police scouring CCTV footage of the Bournemouth pitch invasion celebrations were stunned to spot three off-duty officers taking part.

Bournemouth beat Nottingham Forest on May 3 to secure Premier League football for next season and jubilant fans encroached on the pitch after the final whistle was blown.

Stunned colleagues monitoring CCTV spotted the trio on the field, with a source telling The Sun: "When police were looking through the footage they had the shock of their lives when they saw the superintendent on the pitch celebrating.

"There were a couple of other officers from the force who got carried away and ran onto the pitch to jump up and down with the crowd.

"None of the officers caused any trouble and it was all good-natured. But the law is the law and clearly, they, of all people, should have been aware that what they were doing was illegal."

The paper adds that Dorset's professional standards unit has been informed about the involvement of the three police officers.

A message was subsequently sent to all officers to remind them not to invade football pitches and the trio involved received informal advice to reflect upon.

Dorset Police said of the Bournemouth pitch invasion: "Three police officers were identified and were asked to reflect on their involvement. Following the game, a message was issued internally reminding all officers and staff of the high standards of behaviour expected of them both in and out of work."

It said the message reiterated "that no matter how exciting it is for their team to win promotion to the Premier League, they must not be involved in pitch invasions."

Scott Parker's Bournemouth secured promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking following their relegation