A senior police officer has been suspended from duty while an investigation is carried out into whether he sexually assaulted and intimidated a female subordinate.

The chief of police in Haarlemmermeer, near Amsterdam, is alleged to have touched and sent sexually tinted messages to a woman who joined his team from the Hoefkade police bureau in The Hague.

NRC reported that he had been ordered to hand in his service pistol and his mobile phone so investigators could study his app messages.

The woman concerned left the police station in The Hague after she raised concerns about malpractice with the internal complaints unit and claimed she had been bullied by colleagues.

The head of police in Haarlemmermeer, who had previously worked at the Hoefkade office, promised her a safe working environment when she transferred to his team of around 140 officers.

However, soon after she arrived the man is alleged to have begun sending her intimidating messages. She is said to have been so concerned for her safety that she refused to go to the toilet unaccompanied and is currently on sick leave, according to NRC.