A senior Police Scotland officer was given £67,000 to move house, it has emerged.

The Scottish Police Authority, which overspent its budget by £16.9m last year, also paid a £53,000 tax bill for the deputy chief constable.

The officer was not identified in a report published on Friday by the Auditor General of Scotland but STV News understands she is Rose Fitzpatrick.

Ms Fitzpatrick, one of three deputy chief constables who each earn £175,000 a year, is responsible for local policing.

The Auditor General said large relocation payments "do not represent a good use of public money" and called the SPA's spending "unacceptable".

Auditor general Caroline Gardner said: "Our audit identified a number of instances of poor governance and poor use of public money. This is unacceptable.

"An immediate priority for the new chair and interim chief officer must be ensuring that the organisation operates more effectively and transparently so that such occurrences are not repeated in the future."

Police Scotland deputy chief constables are among the highest paid in the UK and earn about £28,000 more than their counterparts at the Met, the UK's largest police force.

A spokeswoman for the body said Mrs Fitzpatrick had "acted in good faith".

"Payments were made in line with the terms of DCC Fitzpatrick's appointment and regulations," she said.

"We accept that this is an area where more can be done to ensure we achieve best value."