A SECURITY guard wrongly accused on a police officer's personal Twitter account of driving without insurance has lodged an official complaint.

Nathan Phipps, who works at Boundary Mills in Colne, was driving a Renault Clio belonging to his girlfriend, Jane Jarvis, when he was pulled over by police on the A59 between Skipton and Broughton.

He was questioned and told he was being charged with driving without insurance, which carries a fine of £300 and six penalty points. The car was seized and the couple and their two dogs were left in the lay-by to find their way home.

But before he left the officer attached a sign to the Clio, took a picture of it and put it out on the social networking site Twitter with the message “finished the day as started, another no insurance #seized”.

Mr Phipps, from Earby, has always maintained he was insured, and has now been told police are not going to proceed with the charge.

He said: “When he started taking the picture, I asked him what he was doing and he said he had a Twitter account and he and a few of the lads had a good laugh about it. I said I didn’t find it funny at all.”

He went to Skipton Police Station the next day with his relevant paperwork, where he says he was told it was all in order and that the charge would be rescinded - once he had written off with the document details.

He did, however, have to pay £153 to release the car from a recovery firm, where it had been towed. When he returned to work at Boundary Mills, Colne, he discovered that his colleagues, including his boss, were aware of the tweet.

He has since been told that tweeting is seen as a useful public relations exercise.

“I don’t think it is good PR at all, that’s rubbish. I also think it is highly unprofessional,” he said.

“The officer should not have been on his phone tweeting when I was standing there, and he put it out that I was uninsured when I was.

“I am totally disgusted. I wouldn’t do it at work and I don’t think he should have done it either.”

Mr Phipps is still £153 out of pocket having paid to release his girlfriend’s car and does not expect to get it back.

“I should get it back, as I’ve done nothing wrong, but I don’t think I will,” he said.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police confirmed that no action was being taken with the no insurance and that Mr Phipps’ complaint was being investigated.

“As this issue is the subject of an investigation by the force’s professional standards department, it is not appropriate for us to comment at this time.”