A police officer has been arrested on suspicion of rape and serious sexual assault, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said today.
The officer, whose identity has not been released, was detained in Blackpool this morning following a complaint to local police.
The IPCC said it is overseeing an investigation by officers from West Mercia Police's Professional Standards Department.
The officer, who was suspended in June in relation to a separate allegation of assault, was being transferred to an unnamed police station in the West Mercia Police force area for interview.
No details were given of the officer's rank or where he is based. His force covers Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
A West Mercia Police spokeswoman said: "We did have an officer suspended in June in relation to a separate allegation of assault. That officer was arrested today."
No further comment would be made by the force during the IPCC investigation, she added.
A Lancashire Police spokeswoman said that the 42-year-old officer was arrested at an address in Blackpool at about 8am.
"The arrest was made here but that was our only involvement. The alleged offences are said to have occurred elsewhere," she said.
