Police have been alerted amid claims that firefighters at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service allegedly photographed dead bodies of women at the scene of car accidents.

ITV News reported that images were shared on a WhatsApp group in which male firefighters allegedly made degrading comments about victims.

In an interview with ITV, a female firefighter at the service said: “There’s explicit pictures, there’s photos of accidents, sometimes you can even see the dead body in the accident.

“Retrieving the body of someone dead should tear you apart, not make you want to take photos of it, just to joke about it later because that’s someone’s loved one, isn’t it? That’s someone’s relative.”

She also claimed she saw people “say comments about the type of underwear the women are wearing in the car crash”.

Ben Ansell, chief fire officer of Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, said in a statement that the police have been alerted as allegations of criminal behaviour are involved.

The service is commissioning an independent investigation into the claims, during which all female staff will have the opportunity to speak to an independent organisation.

It has also set up a confidential helpline which staff can ring with any “immediate issues” as a result of these allegations.

Mr Ansell said: “The matters that have been raised with us are deeply concerning and we take allegations of this nature extremely seriously.

“We are extremely shocked and appalled to hear about these allegations. We would ask that any individuals affected, provide us with further information to allow us to investigate these allegations and to enable us to offer our support to them.

“There is an expectation for our staff to work in line with our code of ethics which sets out high levels of expected behaviours. The vast majority of our staff are good people, working hard and doing a great job. But when and if those standards are not met, we will move quickly to address it.”

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