A senior police officer who ordered Champagne for 200 colleagues has been told to pay the £3,000 bill himself, writes Tim Hughes.

Supt Martin Morris bought bottles of bubbly as gifts for hard-working civilian staff - some based at Kidlington - expecting to claim the cost on expenses.

But after being told it was against the rules, he has now had to pay the bill out of his own pocket.

The presents were intended as a pre-Christmas 'thank you' to members of the force's Administration of Justice department.

Managers were told to buy the Champagne with their own credit and debit cards, believing they would be able to claim the money back.

But senior police chiefs stepped in and pointed out strict rules forbidding perks being paid out of the department's budget. The expense was ruled out of order, leaving Supt Morris to refund staff himself.

Thames Valley Police spokesman Paul Anthem said: "Before Christmas, the head of the AOJ made a decision to reward his staff by purchasing a bottle of wine for each of them. The intention was to reward the hard work which his colleagues had put in for a particularly difficult time.

"Prior to a claim being submitted for the wine, the officer concerned realised he had made a mistake - the financial regulations of Thames Valley Police do not permit such purchases.

"The officer concerned has made an arrangement to pay for the wine from his own pocket and having discussed the issue with his line manager, no further action is to be taken."

Supt Morris said he had already paid managers from his own pocket.

He said: "It was the right and appropriate thing to do. The last year had been difficult and they all worked extremely hard. We have had difficulty both recruiting and retaining staff.

"The reward was an error on my part. Once I found out it was wrong, I raised it with the line manager at Thames Valley Police and arranged to pay the money back."

A Police Federation spokesman said: "It looks like it was hit on the head just in time. Just because they might have performed well doesn't give them the right to use taxpayers' money for a gift or personal gratification.

"There are numerous other police civilians who perform well but don't get perks like that."

The AOJ department acts as a link between the police and the courts. It is staffed by civilians, who work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, prepare court summonses and brief people before trials.

Staff are based in Kidlington, Reading, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes.