GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S most senior fire officer bought himself a fire service-owned Land Rover worth thousands of pounds for £500 through a company he has links to, it can be now be revealed.

Stewart Edgar handed the company the cash after accepting its £500 offer for

the Gloucester Fire Service 4×4 so he could get it for a fraction of its value of up to

£8,000.

Mr Edgar, who was in charge of authorising sales as the chief fire officer, rejected

a second, higher bid for the 15-year-old Land Rover Discovery, although that offer

was made after a set deadline, and accepted the smaller amount.

He now has to return the 4×4 to Gloucestershire County Council so the authority doesn’t lose any money.

The county council confirmed the news on Thursday July 5 after an email to staff from chief executive Peter Bungard outlining what had happened was leaked.

Mr Bungard said Mr Edgar’s actions resulted in a ’loss of trust’.

An investigation triggered by a whistleblower forced Mr Edgar to step down from his £147,000 a year job.