Two Dorset search and rescue charities join up on the water

Search dogs and their handlers are being trained on the water in the new project

Search and rescue dogs are being trained to find people lost at sea after two charities joined forces.

Dorset Search Dogs and Wessex Flood Rescue have been given more than £43,000 to help train dogs and their handlers out on the water.

The money is from a Resilient Community Fund, distributed by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).

The idea of bringing the two charities together came after a teenager died saving drowning children in Poole.

Callum Baker-Osborne, 18, had gone to the aid of his young nieces and nephews who got pulled out to sea by a riptide at Rockley Point beach.

He was swept away and his body was found four days later after an extensive search.

Callum Baker-Osborne was described as "really heroic" by the coroner

SSEN said combining the search expertise of both charities meant emergency services would be offered a "much enhanced ability to trace, rescue and recover those missing at sea or in bodies of water".

"This is a unique offering that brings together years of knowledge and experience at a time when such rescues are increasing and funding is diminishing," the company said.

As part of the project, Dorset Search Dog Rufus is being training with Wessex Flood Rescue.

Rufus takes part in a training exercise with his handler Serena Field

With his handler Serena Field, the nine-year-old German wire haired pointer is learning to help search for people along the coast or in flood waters. Ms Field told the BBC: "It's a bit of fine tuning because he's used to running to find a person and now he's got to get used to being sat on a boat and then indicating on scent."

As an air scenting dog, Rufus picks up the smell of humans, which is even possible from the water.

"We are shedding skin cells and smell the whole time," said Ms Field, adding: "That's picked up on the wind and we know that dogs can detect human scent coming up through the water and in the air."

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