A Police Dog, which had only been on the force for three days, impressed officers by sniffing out three suspected motorcycle thieves in one evening.

Police Dog Axel - a Belgian Malinois cross - was on duty with his handler PC Graham Nuth and colleague, SC Dan O’Connell, on December 30 when the officers received a call from an off-duty police officer.

Pc Dave Bridge was on his way home and had seen three people with a motorcycle acting suspiciously in Corringham. When challenged, they ran away. 

Nuth and O'Connell quickly located the motorcycle and after running checks, discovered that it had been reported stolen just 20 minutes before. 

While Dan waited with the motorcycle, Nuth sent Axel to sniff out the suspects.

Following his nose for ten minutes through a busy housing estate, Axel led Nuth to a recreational ground where he spotted three people matching the description given by Pc Dave Bridge, a fellow dog handler.

Axel chased the suspects and detained them while waiting for Nuth to make the arrests.  

Two 17-year-old boys from Basildon and Stanford-le-Hope were arrested on suspicion of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent along with an 18-year-old man from Corringham.

The trio were taken to custody where they currently remain.

The officers later returned the motorcycle to its owner, who fussed over Axel for his efforts.

The victim’s mum also came out to praise Axel who lapped up the attention.