Police staff member shared dead body image with WhatsApp group and his partner

Birmingham Crown Court was told the 31-year-old used his personal mobile phone to photograph a “highly sensitive” picture which was displayed on a computer screen after 18-year-old Lewis Williams was hit by a train.

Ex-British Transport Police employee Joshua Tilt leaves Birmingham Crown Court (Matthew Cooper/PA)

A police control room worker who shared a picture of a teenager’s body in a WhatsApp group was arrested after telling a colleague he had also sent the image to his girlfriend, it has emerged.

British Transport Police said the actions of Joshua Tilt – who has since been sacked after his resignation was refused – were “sickening and completely incompatible with both public decency” and what is expected of police staff.