A manager at Bristol City Council was sacked amid claims that he sent a female colleague a lewd photograph and had a gun in his desk.

The man, who worked in the parking services department, was initially suspended pending an investigation after it was claimed he sent the image to another council worker.

But once he had been barred from turning up at the office, an air rifle was discovered in his desk.

The employee, one of four junior managers in the council's parking services department, was sacked shortly afterwards, on May 23. He appealed against the decision and a hearing was held behind closed doors this week.

A cross-party panel of councillors heard the case and decided to uphold the council's decision to dismiss him. His identity has not been disclosed.

The Evening Post understands the manager had sent the graphic picture to a woman who worked in the same department.

The council does not usually confirm details of cases involving individuals but decided to do so after more serious allegations were posted on the internet.

Claims were made online that the gun was loaded, which the council denies, and that the picture was sent to all the women in the manager's team, which the council says was not true.

The manager worked in the council's Day's Road office in St Philip's.

The parking services team deals with all aspects of parking around Bristol city centre. The control room in Day's Road is where people call to report issues like illegally parked vehicles.

The council would not release details of the appeal, as the meeting was not open to the public, but confirmed the manager had been sacked.

A spokesman said: "This member of staff was appealing against dismissal for gross misconduct.

"The cross-party panel of councillors who heard his appeal – in private – dismissed his appeal."

The incident is not the first time a member of staff working for the authority has been sacked for questionable behaviour.

Former council employee Nigel Walton was sacked in 2004 after he was found to have downloaded indecent pictures of children on his work computer.

In court, the housing officer later admitted 11 counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.

And in 2001, an employment tribunal ruled that the city council had been right to sack former director of contract services Neville Lee for gross misconduct over allegations of misuse of a piece of surveying equipment, hired for £600 at the council's expense.

The Evening Post attempted to contact the manager via a union representative but he was unavailable for comment yesterday and the union Unison also declined to comment.