"It's just not good, it's not good at all," he said.

"He came into her life as a police officer. He made her feel safe and protected, then used her vulnerability," she said.The friend told the court the woman asked her to come to her house because Mr Silver said he wanted to visit and discuss the domestic violence allegations.

She said Mr Silver was not expecting her to be there, telling the court "he was very shocked, his face dropped".She added she had to leave to put her young son to bed, but her friend messaged afterwards saying "I need a restraining order on this creepy police officer, it's unbelievable".The trial continues.

A Gwent Police officer pretended to be a gas engineer and visited a woman he had dealt with a year before, quizzing her about her sex life, a court heard.Luke Silver, 33, told her he worked for housing provider Pobl and wanted to do a safety check, according to prosecutors.

His defence said he was not dressed as a gas man but in a "half blues" police uniform and was there to ask for help getting a cat.

Mr Silver, from Pembroke, denies four allegations of corrupt or improper exercise of police powers and privileges by a constable, and three of unauthorised access to computer data.with other dramatic measures

Andy Street, Conservative mayor for the West Midlands, said it was a "dark day that sets the city back, just as we thought we had turned a corner and were on the rise again".The authority needs to tackle a £300m budget shortfall over the next two years.

It is also facing equal pay claims of up to £760m and an £80m overspend on an under-fire IT system.Exactly which assets could be sold to repay the debt has not yet been finalised.