Relatives of victims of the Shoreham Airshow disaster have been left "disappointed" by the actions of two police officers who filmed a selfie video which contained an offensive caption.

The Brighton-based pair are being investigated for gross misconduct after they sent the video via social media to a colleague who then reported them to the force's professional standards department.

The video included an offensive caption, which The Argus has chosen not to publish.

Sussex Police said they will “thoroughly investigate” the accusations.

The duo have not been suspended on full pay but placed on restricted duties away from the public while the matter is investigated.

In the disaster at the Shoreham Airshow on August 22, a Hawker Hunter stunt jet crashed into the A27 leaving 11 people dead after it failed to complete a loop the loop manoeuvre – sparking a huge police operation which is still ongoing.

Family liaison officers spoke to the relatives of all 11 victims yesterday afternoon and told them of the investigation.

Sussex Police had urged members of the public over the weekend of the accident to consider the “thoughts and feelings” of the families and loved ones of the victims before posting pictures and video online – adding it could be “very distressing” to share images of the crash.

Sussex Police Deputy Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney said the force has apologised to the relatives, admitting that they had been caused "unnecessary distress" .

Ms Pinkney said the families were "disappointed" to learn of the incident.

And she added: "I'm so disappointed and upset by having to investigate two colleagues for this.

"What has happened is that two young in-service constables were working shortly after the Shoreham air tragedy and were on the cordon, some distance from the scene itself, and they videoed themselves.

"There was nothing in that video that showed any detail of the scene but very disappointingly they attached a message to that video which was inappropriate and it was offensive.

"Those officers have let themselves down, of course, but most importantly they have let down the 11 families of the local men who died that day."

Earlier this year Sussex Police announced plans to hold gross misconduct hearings in public.