Police, camera… in action! Officers are being criticized after CCTV catches them sitting in woman's front room watching TV and using her dumbbells for four hours – following a call to her home on 999

A woman has criticized police officers for watching Netflix and lifting dumbbells in her home for almost four hours after being told to 'chill' while she went missing in the woods.

Abbygail Lawton, 21, from Wigan, was in the middle of a mental health crisis when ambulance services raised the alarm about her welfare and called in police for support.

Great Manchester police officers searched her home to make sure the young woman was not there before making themselves comfortable, sitting on the sofa with their feet up as they scrolled through Mrs Lawton's TV looking for a series of Come Dine with Me to watch.

Police said officers stayed at her home because it was unlocked when they arrived — and that they stayed there in case she returned.

Mrs Lawton, a mother of one, was missing for 11 hours before being found by two other officers. She was subsequently 'arrested for wasting police time' and spent twelve hours in police custody.

It was only when she finally got home that she revisited the CCTV footage in which she said the two male officers were 'mocking' her.

While sitting in her lounge, the pair had commented about how she had recently watched The Boy in Striped Pajamas, started working out and even looked directly into the camera to say, “Hi Abbygail, I know you're watching us '.

While the footage is now being investigated by the force's Professional Standards Department, Ms Lawton revealed to MailOnline the conversations officers allegedly had at her home.

Two male officers and a female officer arrived at her home just before 10pm on January 3. After conducting the search, the female officer allegedly told her colleagues “you might as well chill here in case she comes back” before explaining that she was leaving the home. door on the handle.

Mrs Lawton said: 'As she left the address the two male officers came in and turned on Netflix on my TV, commenting on what I had seen.

'They said I'd watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – which I'd done before – and another show I'd seen.

'Then they say 'we could if we watch something like Come Dine With Me', before the other officer sees Dog behaving badly and starts saying that 'it's pretty good'.

'They then choose something on Netflix and watch TV. One of the officers then grabs my barbell and starts lifting weights, which you can see in the footage, before sitting back down.”

Mrs Lawton had been alerted on her phone that there had been movement in her home and was furious that they had invaded her privacy while doing nothing.

The officers then hear on their radio that the sergeant is Mrs. Lawton on the phone trying to locate her.

“The two officers found out I was talking to the sergeant on the phone and said, 'She likes talking to the sergeant on the phone, but she's not happy about being found,'” she explained.

'I was really struggling in the woods, I had overdosed before I left and was in a really bad mental health crisis.

'The officers had heard over the radio that I had been watching them on CCTV cameras because I had told the sergeant that I was not happy about them being at my house when I wasn't there and because they were on my couch were watching TV.

“Then an officer goes to the camera and says, 'Hi Abbygail, I know you're watching us,' and then sits back down on the couch, which is again inappropriate.”

Ms Lawton claimed the officers also committed a data breach by leaving their radio on loudly so she could hear all other crimes being reported in the area, including the names, ages and addresses of victims and criminals.

An investigation has now been launched by Greater Manchester Police's professional standards department, which is investigating the officers who sat in her home for hours, as well as the female officer who initially told them to 'chill'.

The force is also investigating the use of force by other officers when Ms Lawton was arrested and why she was taken into custody while suffering from a mental health crisis.

After dispatching two police helicopters, Ms Lawton was found in the woods at around 4am by a male and a female police officer.

When she refused to get into the police car, she claims the male officer grabbed her with both hands and pushed her into the back of a police car.

Mrs Lawton added: 'I was crying my eyes out because I was really upset and he said to me, 'I don't feel sorry for you crying, you've wasted my time looking for you for five hours.'

The sergeant told her she would be taken to the hospital, but instead she was taken into custody.

'I was in custody for twelve hours. “I arrived at 5am and was released at 5pm on the 4th,” she said.

'During my interview, a female police officer asked 'how would you feel if there were no police officers available for emergencies because they were all looking for you?'

'At this point I hadn't seen the footage of the officers sitting on my sofa, but they're clearly not that busy looking for me while I'm sitting on the sofa watching TV.

'Obviously that comment upset me as it was not my intention to waste police time or cause any inconvenience and I was clearly having a mental health crisis.'

A mental health nurse who visited during the ordeal urged her to make a formal complaint, adding that she should have been taken to hospital instead.

The force is now investigating officers' general service levels, with regard to television viewing and use of fitness equipment.

They are also investigating allegations of unprofessionalism and disrespect, use of force, power to arrest and detain, as well as rude language and tone.

Ms Lawton added: “I feel ashamed for the police officers. Being wrongfully arrested causes trauma, and being in custody is a horrible thing to be in a cell; there is nothing you can do about it.

'You have no privacy because they watch you on cameras, they see you going to the toilet. That in itself has caused me to lose faith in the police because I assume they will arrest me again if I haven't done anything wrong.

'I am disappointed and embarrassed by the two officers who were watching TV, the comments they made and how they behaved in my building. I have not given them permission to be in my house, watch TV or use my exercise equipment.

'It was like they mocked me and took the mick while I was in a crisis in the woods, the weather was terrible that day, it was raining and cold, I was clearly having a mental health crisis and they were just sitting here watching TV like he means 'f*** it, we don't care if she's missing'.

Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for a statement.

If you need support, you can reach Samaritans via the toll-free helpline 116 123 or via email at jo@samaritans.org