Dogs that were rescued from squalor are now fighting crime on the streets of Manchester.

Seventy-eight springer spaniels were discovered living in a filthy house in South Yorkshire in April.

Since then, a select few have been trained up and are now part of Greater Manchester Police’s newly expanded dog unit, which has seen arrests go up by a third since last year.

Among the achievements of the round-the-clock unit have been finding a £10,000 stolen watch and a suspect trying to hide from them in a bin.

It has not been revealed how many of the dogs came from the house in Tickhill, Doncaster, where they were discovered living in filth before being rescued by the RSPCA.

Dogs at the Tactical Dog Unit are used by the police to track and locate suspects, and to search for items such as drugs, cash and guns.

“The new dog handlers mean we have increased our coverage across the day and to allow us to have extra dogs on night shifts when demand for their skills is at its highest,” said Supt Paul Walker, from GMP.

“So now if there is a need for a dog to help catch a suspect, track or find people or evidence then we’ll have dogs ready, available and nearby to help local teams prevent and detect crime and catch those blighting our communities.”

Since July, the unit has been at the centre of efforts to arrest burglary and robbery suspects, and two men on suspicion of rape, as well as recovering more than a dozen weapons including guns and knives.

Handlers and dogs must complete rigorous training, which includes time spent bonding and then passing annual assessments to ensure they are qualified.

One of the training exercises sees the dogs taught how to lock its jaw onto a padded sleeve to replicate a real-life scenario.

The animals are also trained to come away when told and to leave anyone who surrenders.

Dogs and handlers considered to be experienced enough can also be trained to search buildings for suspects thought to be in the possession of firearms.

Supt Walker added: “Recent successes have included our dogs locating a firearm concealed in a bush in Oldham.

“These types of jobs happen each and every day across Greater Manchester as the Dog Unit supports the force 24 hours a day, every day.

“That is why all our dogs and handlers are trained to the highest standards.”

Arrests have reached 43 a month, up a third on 2024’s average of one a day, or 374 across the year, GMP said.