GUNS and dogs have been brought together as part of a move by North Yorkshire Police to improve their response to serious crimes.

The force has created a "formidable" 100-strong unit of firearms officers and dog handlers to deal with incidents in York and across the rest of the county.

The Firearms Support Unit will be based at dedicated bases in Tadcaster and Thirsk.

Superintendent Martin Deacon, who is the force's head of tactical operations, said: "It made sense to manage both police dogs and firearms officers within the same unit because they are both often sent to the same incidents and have a force-wide remit. The new combined unit will form a formidable resource to deal with incidents occurring across the whole of North Yorkshire and the city of York."

Updated: 07:52 Tuesday, September 07, 2004