Meet our digi dog trio who are trained to sniff out key evidence and put offenders behind bars

Today was their time to shine as we opened the doors to TV crews who got an insight into how our police dog handlers train their loyal canines.

Dog Trainer, PC Paul Cooper, was joined by dog handlers, PCs Dan Cuthbertson and Jack Hamilton and their three ‘digi’ dogs, Baxter, Louis and Demi.

The furry trio recently passed their digital dog training and have already assisted officers at several incidents and have played a key role at operations to seize devices from registered sex offenders.

The dogs have many digital capabilities, not all of them we can discuss, however can pick up scents for items like mobile phones, laptops and iPads.

PD Louis recently hunted out a mobile phone which was dumped at the side of the road by a dangerous driver. The discovery of this phone ultimately led to a 17-year sentence.

Inspector Aaron Leathley said: “The dogs are an invaluable asset to the force, saving hundreds of hours of police time and money.

“They have proven their worth time and time again by hunting out vital evidence which has resulted in a number of prolific offenders being put behind bars.

“We have just over 20 dogs in our unit with all different kinds of specialisms including drugs, cash and a weapons. There’s nothing our dogs won’t find; they are worth their weight in gold.”

Catch them on local news; BBC Look North and ITV Tyne Tees on Thursday and Friday night.