Avon and Somerset police dogs get teeth into Bristol crooks

Avon and Somerset police dogs are continuing to get their teeth into criminals, as yet another alleged burglar was thwarted in Bristol this week.

In less than a fortnight, the highly trained canines have been involved in three successful arrests in Bristol.

At 5am on Tuesday, police were called about a man breaking into a house in Edna Avenue, Brislington.

PC Justin Andrews and his German Shepherd Nero were first on the scene. As they neared the address, a man ran past them.

He was challenged to stop but did not, so Nero gave chase and detained him by biting him on the right arm until the officer came.

Valuables from the burgled address were found on the suspect.

And after the arrest, Nero found two discarded socks that the suspect had used as gloves.

Dog Section Inspector Frazer Davey said: "We have one very happy dog handler. I would say 'good boy Nero'. Tackling burglaries is a priority in Bristol and this shows we can catch offenders swiftly."

Earlier this month, police dog Keko and his handler PC Gemma Pinkard caught a man suspected of stealing lead from a church roof in Avonmouth.

The 29-year-old officer and the Alsatian were first to arrive at Avonmouth Church on October 18.

Ms Pinkard said: "We got some information that a man had just run out of the back of the church. We saw him in the road and I shouted 'stand still'.

"The suspect took one look at Keko and put his hands out in front of him to be handcuffed."

Keko then searched the church grounds and found a craft knife and screwdriver to add to evidence. The ravenous dog was rewarded with a chicken dinner.

Ms Pinkard, who has previously worked as a firearms officer and a traffic officer, said being a dog handler was "the best job in the world".

Last week, another police dog called Harry caught three suspected thieves as they tried to escape through a field in Patchway.

Harry and handler Guy Williams saw them climbing out of a yard and into a field.

The men were caught and detained. Gloves, a car key and tools that had been ditched by the suspects were then recovered after Harry found them in the field.

The car key unlocked a transit van parked nearby that was full of stolen car batteries.