Police pups named after former officers

The former officers got to meet their namesakes at the dog training centre last week

A new litter of police dogs have been named after inspirational female police officers, West Midlands Police has said.

The five German Shepherd puppies are called Lizzie, Kay, Campbell, Gray and Ash.

The force has one of the most successful police dog breeding programmes in the country, supplying dogs to other forces as well as its own team.

It said two former officers visited the dog training centre last week and were surprised to find out that a pair of the pups had been named after them.

Retired dog handler Elizabeth joined West Midlands Police in 1973 and in 1979 she joined the dog unit and was partnered with Czar, a German Shepherd.

The force said they formed a successful team and on their first shift found two burglars "in a pitch-black scrapyard in Birmingham".

Insp Rachel Crump said revealing the dogs' names to their visitors was a "special moment"

Kay, meanwhile, joined the mounted unit as one of the first female officers in 1984, policing football matches and disorders before retiring in 1997.

Insp Rachel Crump, from the dog unit, said: "They got to meet some of our working dogs and we finished the visit by surprising them with meeting the puppies. It was a very special moment.

"Our dogs and their handlers are integral to the work that we do in keeping the West Midlands safe and catching criminals."

She added that the team were hoping the pups would "grow to be as inspirational as the very women they were all named after".