Fraud arrest over West Mercia Police dog fundraising page

Sgt David Evans wanted to keep police dog Ivy when he retired

A man has been arrested as part of a fraud investigation over a fundraising page for a police dog.

A page, on social media, was launched to help raise money for retiring West Mercia Police dog handler Sgt David Evans to keep his dog, Ivy.

His family set up a petition for him to keep the animal but the force insisted it be returned.

A 32-year-old man from Market Drayton has been arrested on suspicion of fraud and released under investigation.

The petition, which gained 140,300 signatures, was launched when Sgt Evans stepped down from the force after 34 years' service.

He offered to buy PD Ivy and cover the cost of training her but West Mercia Police said it was not in the four-year-old dog's best interests.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe said: "The campaign in question was removed a number of weeks ago and GoFundMe is refunding donors..."