TWO police community support officers have been caught posing for pictures in front of a helicopter wreckage they were supposed to be guarding.

The two officers were caught on camera, taking turns to pose, by Free Press Picture Editor Jason Dawson following the crash on Friday, September 16th. The pair have since been "spoken to" by police chiefs for their action.

The helicopter crashed in a field in Amersham narrowly missing a busy bypass, off London Road East. Its trainee pilot was taken to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital with neck and head injuries and is in a serious but stable condition A police spokesman said of the officers: "They have been spoken to about taking photos at the scene. They have not done anything malicious but they are apologetic for it. It is not proper conduct.

"They did not want to upset the family and cause any distress in any way."

However police commended the work of the PCSOs in helping the pilot. They said the lapse occurred because the PCSOs are not trained for supervising crash scenes but were standing in for officers who were dealing with the incident.

The spokesman added: "The PCSOs did a good job in getting the man away from the scene and helping get medical attention.

"They would not have been allowed to do it guard the scene if it was felt they were not able to."

But Inspector Martin Elliott, chairman of the Thames Valley Police Federation which represents rank and file officers, questioned why the PCSOs were allowed to attend the crash scene at all.

He said: "Their role is primarily community reassurance and engagement with communities, so when I hear about cases like this I think it's wrong. They are not trained in resolving these things."

He added: "Has this issue of taking sensitive photos been highlighted in the training? It probably hasn't. After all, they get just two weeks training but we train cops for two years."

Insp Elliott said that he is increasingly hearing of incidents whereby PCSOs are having to do jobs outside of their remit so much so that the subject is currently being debated by the police and the Government.

He said: "There's a huge debate that's taking place at the moment by police and in the Home Office as to the role of PCSOs. They are actually asking the Home Secretary to give them some direction."

Chesham and Amersham MP Cheryl Gillan said the PCSOs should "not be placed in a situation for work they are not trained or have experience".

The shadow home office minister added: "I am sure that our police have taken action and I am reassured knowing that is the case."

A spokesman for UK Disaster Action, a group which support injured aircrash victims, said they would expect a higher code of conduct from the emergency services in such cases.

Rachel Sixsmith and Vince Soodin