An Isle of Wight police officer has been slammed by his own force after he made a threatening prank call to his colleague which resulted in a businessman getting arrested and thrown into a cell.

However, despite his 'reckless' behaviour, PC Benjamin Magee will keep his job, escaping with a final written warning.

PC Magee, who is based at Newport Police Station, was criticised by Hampshire Constabulary for his 'inexcusable' practical joke that ended the wrongful arrest of Islander, Benji Churchill, who was innocent.

In an 'act of stupidity', he called his on-duty colleague while pretending to be Mr Churchill, threatened him and called him a 'p***k'.

Read more: Isle of Wight police officer made trick call, misconduct panel hears

Private security boss Mr Churchill was arrested in front of his seven year old son and spent almost two hours in a cell following the prank-call-gone-wrong.

PC Magee, 39, was hauled to a Hampshire Constabulary misconduct hearing and has now been found guilty of gross misconduct.

Now, the force's Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya criticised PC Magee.

DCC de Reya said: "It is inexcusable that an innocent member of the public was detained in police custody because of the recklessness of a police officer.

"I apologise for the impact this has had on the person detained.

"This officer has damaged public trust with his irresponsible actions.

"This behaviour is not what we see across Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, where officers, staff and volunteers are proactively out in communities keeping people safe from harm."

At the police misconduct hearing, at the force's headquarters in Eastleigh, PC Magee final written warning was deemed 'sufficient' by panel chair Stephen Gowland.

Mr Gowland said: "The panel do not take any pleasure in making findings of this nature.

"This was an act of stupidity."

The warning will remain in effect for two years.

PC Magee was ordered to offer a full and public apology to Mr Churchill.

The hearing was told the prank call was made by PC Magee in the early hours of December 31, 2022.

The officer who took the call during a night shift was granted anonymity and was only identified as 'PC X' at the four-day hearing.

During the hoax, PC Magee called his fellow officer 'a p***k' and asked 'do you have a problem with me?'.

He took the call seriously and reported it to senior officers, leading to him changing his number and Mr Churchill's arrest at his home on the Island.

Mr Churchill, 35, was then locked up in a cell for one hour and 40 minutes - before PC Magee arrived and explained the misunderstanding.

PC Magee accepted he made the call but argued that his colleague was informed it was a prank call before Mr Churchill was put in a cell and that other officers also knew the call was a prank, but did not stop the arrest.