An award-winning police dog will hang up the lead today, after serving eight years in the force.

Last year, German Shepherd Finn made the headlines with his Hertfordshire Police handler, PC Dave Wardell, when they were both injured during the pursuit of a suspect. 

Finn, eight, was stabbed in the head and rushed to the vets, where he underwent a life-saving operation.

After making a full recovery, Finn returned to work in December and managed to track down a criminal on his first day back.

And earlier this week, Finn and Dave competed in the Eastern Regional Police Dog Trials.

Unfortunately, the duo had to pull out of the competition early as Finn sustained a slight muscle strain, but their scores from the first day saw them win three trophies for best tracking, best building search and best overall search.

Dave, who has had Finn since he was a nine-month-old puppy, said: “Working with Finn has been an incredible and, more recently, emotional journey.

“Finn genuinely loved to work as a police dog and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with him. His desire to perform his duty to the best of his ability is second to none and I’ll miss patrolling the streets with him.

“He has certainly earned a long and healthy retirement and I am happy to say he will be spending this with me and my family – after all, he is part of the family.”