A former police chief constable who was cleared of misconduct following a £400,000 inquiry has criticised the process as unfair and one-sided.

Stuart Hyde was suspended for a year from his £130,000-a-year post as temporary chief constable of Cumbria Police in September 2012, amid claims he had misused a police credit card and business air miles and posted questionable pictures on Twitter.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission cleared him of misconduct but Cumbria's Police and Crime Commissioner disagreed and re-suspended him. He returned to his original role of deputy chief constable after another probe found no evidence of malpractice, but retired on December 31.

Mr Hyde told the BBC: "It doesn't feel like a fair process at all. What it feels like is a one-sided view."