A police sniffer dog has caught four pupils red-handed after it was taken to a Devon school as part of a talk about drugs.

As pupils were filing out of the talk at Ilfracombe Community College, the two-year-old dog called Bonnie became excited.

Lockers were searched, an amount of cannabis was found and four boys were arrested.

Three were reprimanded but another was charged and is due to appear in court in connection with the discovery.

Drugs culture

David Humphries, headteacher of the north Devon school, denied it had a major drug problem.

"The college does not have a major drugs problem, but neither as we so naive as to think the college is immune from the drugs culture present in British society," he said.

"One student has returned to college and we expect the others to return shortly when they have completed their exclusion."

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said the arrests were totally unexpected.