Police chiefs have supported an officer who was “scorned” for buying food after a busy day on the frontline.

PC Andre Owen posted on Twitter that he stopped at a Burger King towards the end of a shift, having not had a break throughout his shift.

The Brighton bobby was 100 miles from his station on duty in Oxford when he posted after 2pm on Wednesday, having been on duty since 7am.

But after stopping for a quick bite to eat, he received the criticism.

He posted: “To the lady that scorned me for buying food on duty, I’ve not stopped since 7.05 this morning, not even for toilet break."

PC Owen then stopped to help a broken down motorist on the M23 upon his return.

He has since received support from the public and Deputy Chief Constable Bernie O'Reilly, who posted: "Andre, I know how hard you and colleagues work and you have my complete support to look after yourself.

“If you buy and eat food in a public place all the better. Guessing it was a crispy chicken salad? Safe journey back.”

Meanwhile roads policing Special Constable Neil Worth posted: “A big part of community policing is being out and about in the community. When I was a PCSO we were encouraged from day one to have a coffee or eat in public on our beats so people got to know us and us them.”

PC Owen was also inundated with messages of support from his followers.

He wrote: "Thankyou for everyone’s support. It’s overwhelming! I had a Double Whopper Meal. I just smiled at the lady and walked away, and after all of that it took nearly four hours to get back due to helping a family broken down on the M23."