The Metropolitan Police force is appealing to dog owners thinking about giving up their pets to hand them over for training.

The best dogs are the more robust, attention seeking and naughty dogs who people may feel are too much bother with

Metropolitan Police

In particular, they are looking to recruit Cocker and Springer Spaniels and Labradors aged between one and two years.

The dogs will be trained in tracking drugs, counterfeit money and explosives at the Met's specialist training centre at Keston in Kent.

Success story

The force trains sniffer dogs there not only for its own operations but for Custom and Excise and the prison service.

Sergeant Ian Macparland, of the Met's Dog Training Establishment, said: "Due to the success of our dog training courses we have a huge demand for places, from a variety of agencies who will go to work in the field of drug, currency and explosives detection.

"For our purposes the best dogs are the more robust, attention seeking and naughty dogs who people may feel are too much bother with.

"The Met would be an ideal place for them to come and work.

"We need as many dogs as possible. So if you think you've got the right type then please call us."

Contact the dog training centre on 0208 649 1626 or 07768504510.