The new recruits took just two months to train

German Shepherds have traditionally been used as police dogs in this country, but now Cleveland Police are trying out a breed called Belgian Malinois.

Pc Colin Skelton, who is charge of training the dogs, says the first two which have been used have proved successful.

He said: "We have been pretty much forced to look at other breeds because of the lack of availability of quality German Shepherds for use for training as police dogs.

"We made some inquiries with breeders around the country and with our counterparts in foreign countries, such as the other European countries, and found the Malinois was popular as a police dog."

Mr Skelton said there were physical differences between the two breeds but the Malinois was well-suited to police work.

He also said the Malinois seemed to be a little quicker to learn and that while it normally takes around three months to train police dogs, they were able to take up duties after around two months.

He said: "There is obviously the physical difference. They are a slightly smaller dog and more slightly built than German Shepherds but what these dogs lack in size they make up for in drive and speed and they are extremely agile - ideal for police work."