FOUR-LEGGED members of North Yorkshire Police will feature in a new television documentary next week.

Dog Detectives begins on Monday, November 5, at 8pm, and is a ten-part series looking at the work of the police dog unit, and their lives with their handlers.

A film crew accompanies the dog team on a number of shifts throughout this year, and recorded them tackling challenges including missing people, fleeing criminals, firearms and drug offences.

The series begins with a reunion between PC Martin Gayles and his two beloved colleagues - PD Meg and PD Thor - who retired from the force in the summer, and the first episode also follows PC Lynne Fletcher as she is called in to track down suspects linked to a missing bag believed to contain drugs with the help of sniffer dog PD Billy and general purpose dog PD Patto.

PC Gayles said: "The bond between police dog handlers and our dogs is unbreakable and so it’s been an honour to be able to capture that for others to see.

"I’m proud to be part of the police dog family and be able to highlight the vital contribution we bring to operational policing."

A spokesman for digital channel Quest Red, which will be showing the series, said the show also includes an explosives search with PC Gareth Gummerson and explosive detection search dog PD Isla and a property search and general purpose dog PD Dixon.

The spokesman said the show highlighted "the unsung heroes of the crime-fighting world", including dogs and their handlers from Merseyside Police’s Dogs Section, Police Scotland’s Dog Section and The British Transport Police’s Dog Section, who "help tackle 300,000 crimes every year in the UK".

He said: "Their chief weapon is their nose – estimated to be as much as 10,000 times more sensitive than humans. It means these canine crusaders can perform an array of astonishing feat, locating hidden drug stashes, uncovering bombs and guns, and identifying crucial evidence touched by just the tiniest whiff of human scent."

Dog Detectives starts on Monday, November 5, at 8pm on Quest Red - Freeview 38, Freesat 169, Sky 149, Virgin 215 and BT TV 38.