Police officer arrested on suspicion of his wife's murder

The 49-year-old man, a serving officer with Northamptonshire Police, was off-duty at the time (Getty Images)

A police officer has been arrested for allegedly murdering his wife at their home in Northampton, his own force has said.

The 49-year-old man, a serving officer with Northamptonshire Police, was off-duty at the time.

In a statement, police said: “Police were called to a private address in Wootton Hall Park shortly after 1pm on Thursday and arrested a 49-year-old man who is a serving officer with Northamptonshire Police.

“He has been taken into custody and will be questioned by detectives in due course.”

It added that the case had been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission “as a matter of course”.

The investigation is to be led by a Detective Superintendent, Kate Meynell, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit. She pledged “a full and proper investigation”.

The police statement stressed the investigation “will be carried out by officers, including scenes of crime specialists, drafted in from across the region, but will not include anyone from Northamptonshire Police”.

A post mortem was due to be carried out by a Home Office pathologist in Leicester.