A website carrying details about the Chief Constable has reportedly been altered more than 100 times in the last few months.

One deleted edit labelled him a "greedy, vain moron", according to industry magazine Police Review.

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Normally, Wikipedia sites can be edited by anyone with an internet connection. But, now Wikipedia bosses have temporarily "locked-down" the page, meaning it can't be changed by anyone except administrators, because of what they call "edit-warring".

The 52-year-old chief constable – a favourite to succeed Sir Ian Blair as head of the Met Police – called for the checks on the site after a string of users kept changing details and adding aspects of his time in the force some say he would rather forget – and uncomplimentary comments about him.

Insiders believe the battle started over opposition to controversial new shift patterns he has introduced in West Yorkshire – which began yesterday.

A West Yorkshire police source said: "He called a meeting and said he was sick and tired of people changing his Wikipedia page.

"He insisted staff regularly log on to see if the entry has been changed – and make sure the words he wants are put back on as soon as possible."

Wikipedia frowns upon having information cut and pasted from other sites.

Wikipedia's David Gerard said: "We are the eighth or ninth biggest website in the world so when you Google someone's name the first link that comes up is the Wikipedia entry.

"In the case of Sir Norman Bettison there has been two sides battling it out to change the page. The page has been temporarily locked down, this usually only lasts one or two days, but it depends."

One Wikipedia user had inserted paragraphs, entitled "Controversy", which referred to a vote Sir Norman initiated to change police shift patterns.

This was removed by his staff, according to Police Review, and they added chunks from his official biography on the West Yorkshire force website

A West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: "We work hard to ensure we provide accurate information about West Yorkshire Police and felt compelled that the vitriolic comments did not mislead the public on a site that represents itself as an 'encyclopaedia'."