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A married fire chief and his former secretary who broke lockdown rules to secretly meet up at her home during office hours have kept their jobs.
Mark Andrews, 49, the £105,000-a-year deputy fire chief of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, drove 20 miles to see Anna Colwell, 34, even though she no longer works for him.
He was pictured visiting Mrs Colwell's home in Worthing, West Sussex, on at least two occasions and the pair were also photographed driving around in her white Mini Cooper without masks.
When confronted the father-of-two, who lives in a £1.5million mansion in Horsham with his wife Judy, 58, initially claimed they were 'work colleagues'.
But he was later forced to admit that Mrs Colwell, who is believed to be separated from her husband, Richard, had left his brigade and was now employed by an entirely separate fire service.
© Provided by Daily MailMark Andrews from West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service is being investigated for breaking lockdown rules
© Provided by Daily MailHe is being probed after visiting the home of his former secretary Anna Colwell, 34, (pictured)
Both fire brigades launched top-level investigations into their conduct and police fined them each £200 for breaking lockdown rules.
But despite breaking Covid restrictions for clandestine meetings at her home it has emerged both Mr Andrews and Mrs Colwell have kept their jobs.
Senior sources at both brigades confirmed that following a double investigation the pair 'remained in post'.
An insider said: 'You can only speculate over why they were meeting during working hours when they longer work together but the fact of the matter is they both work for the emergency services and they broke lockdown rules.
'It's a pretty poor example to be setting to the public. I know they have had their wrists slapped and been warned about their future conduct. Let's hope they heed the warnings.'
Despite Mr Andrews and Mrs Colwell both being paid by the taxpayer, both fire brigades refused to officially make public the outcome of their disciplinary investigations.
The incident happened in January when Government rules stated that two households should not mix to help battle the spread of Covid-19.
Mr Andrews has been a strong supporter of the anti-Covid rules and is vice-chair of the Sussex Resilience Forum, a body made up of emergency and contingency support groups.
© Provided by Daily MailMr Andrews and Mrs Colwell were photographed driving around in her Mini without masks
In February it tweeted: 'Not only are we in a national lockdown but the #Sussex LRF has declared a major incident in order that public services can escalate their response to the unprecedented pressures of #Covid19 on the county. Please follow government rules and stay at home.'
The insider said: 'It's totally hypocritical for Mr Andrews to say one thing while doing the complete opposite. It must have shattered the Covid-safe message the fire service was putting out.'
Mr Andrews and Mrs Colwell, a mother of two young boys, met while she was working as a civilian worker for Sussex Police which shares the same HQ in Lewes as East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service.
© Provided by Daily Mail When Mr Andrews was looking for an assistant last April, she applied for the job and he chaired the interview panel which appointed her.
In August, he re-joined West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service where he began his career more than 25 years ago, but their friendship continued after his departure.
Mrs Colwell is understood to have separated from accountant Richard, 36, who works for an accountancy firm in Brighton and they have two young sons.
She continued in her job as assistant to the deputy fire chief after Mr Andrews departure to the neighbouring service.
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