Gift dog Sam, who completed his training with Warwickshire Police in 2001, has received the Police Dog Action of the Year Award, along with his handler PC Ian Head, for his excellent work in detaining an offender resulting in numerous other crimes being detected.

This is the second time Sam, pictured left with Ian, has received this Award. He also received the Award following an incident in March 2002 when he assisted his handler in holding two burglars, and then tracking back to recover a hoard of stolen property.

Ian said "Sam is a credit to Warwickshire Police. In his time with us, he has intercepted numerous offenders resulting in a huge amount of property being recovered.

"Often a thief will ditch property which has no resale value to him, but has huge sentimental value to its owner such as a video of loved ones or photos, and using dogs like Sam helps us locate these items much more easily and reunite them with their owners.

"Sam’s skills are also invaluable when searching for missing children or adults who may be vulnerable because of their age or an illness."

This is the first time a dog and his handler have received the Award two years in a row.