Three Angus police officers have been reprimanded for not properly handling a complaint from a male victim of domestic abuse.

A police officer told the man he could not "keep running to police" and he "liked to complain".

The Police Investigations and Reviews Commissioner (PIRC) found the officer predetermined the man was wasting police time.

The watchdog said she dismissed his concerns without listening to all of the circumstances and had not given proper advice.

The PIRC recommended the complaint be re-investigated and an apology issued if necessary.

A second investigation by the PIRC found a sergeant and the chief inspector also mishandled the complaint and advised they both be re-taught the complaints investigation procedure.

The reprimands came after the man approached Arbroath police station, reporting a woman had posted his address on social media.

He said he had previously moved house because of an abusive relationship with a former partner and did not want her to find out where he had gone.

The man asked the officer to speak to the woman and discourage her from any future similar posts, calling the original post harassment.

The officer told the man the woman was not doing anything to him and was writing her opinion online.

She advised there was nothing police could do and suggested he get in contact with the social media network.

The man then replied the matter was causing him fear and alarm but the officer responded it is "not causing you fear and alarm, it's causing you annoyance and that's blatantly obvious".

She added: "You can't keep running to the police every time..."

The man left the station telling the officer "he would just leave it" and was putting in a complaint about the police station.

The officer was then reported to have replied "you like to complain" to the man.

The man logged two complaints against the station - that his report was dismissed and the officer's flippant remark as he left.

During the internal investigation of the first complaint, it was found a sergeant claimed the officer had "denied any wrongdoing" despite the lack of any audible or written record of the officer making a statement.

The sergeant then recorded the matter as "no complaint to answer" despite no proper investigation having taken place.

The chief inspector was found to have been at odds with CCTV footage available during the internal investigation, when he dismissed what the officer was alleged to have said.

Audio footage recorded the officer as saying: "Fine, you make a complaint, you like to do that."