70 officers in X Factor snoops row

The 20-year-old, from Wakefield, whose real name is Chloe Heald, was the subject of lurid headlines during her stint on the popular show, which she was evicted from in September.

It is understood letters have been sent out to about 70 West Yorkshire Police staff in the past week asking them to explain why they checked police records for information about the contestant.

Now officers will have to justify why they checked the computerised logs relating to her and they have been warned they will be taken to task unless they can prove a genuine professional interest.

West Yorkshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable John Parkinson said: "It is completely inappropriate for any member of West Yorkshire Police to access information from police computers unless it is for policing purposes.

"We have rigorous monitoring systems in place to maintain the integrity of our information and on this occasion it showed that a number of staff had made intelligence checks about an individual who had recently been in the news. We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour as it's clear many of the checks appear to have been done for personal curiosity rather than a legitimate reason. This is totally unacceptable."

Mr Parkinson added: "We frequently remind all our staff about appropriate use of computer systems which contain sensitive and personal information and therefore there is no excuse for those involved.

"Those who do not have a valid reason for their actions will now be subject to disciplinary procedures and only have themselves to blame."