North Yorkshire Police have marked the reintroduction of annual tests for police dogs with a presentation to the winning teams at the force’s headquarters in Newby Wiske.

Assistant Chief Constable Sue Cross presented the winning team of PC Richard Gape and police dog Otto with their certificate and a trophy, donated by Guided Solutions, a recruitment agency for medical practitioners.

Ms Cross said: “This was a great opportunity to be to able acknowledge the time and hard work put in by all of the teams. I know that all of the handlers and dogs across the force are extremely committed to their roles, and so the winners should be extremely proud of their achievement.”

Also receiving certificates were the runner-up team of PC Scott Nixon and Rambo, and PC Geoff Bonas and Barney, who took third place.

Inspector Kevin Robinson, operational training inspector, said: “I am very pleased that we have been able to reintroduce the annual tests which allows us to ascertain a police dog’s effectiveness for general policing duties over and above the minimum standard set by the Home Office. The tests were held over a four-day period during May, when the dogs were put through a range of operational tasks.

Each of the 20 teams had a set appointment and time in which they had to complete the tasks.