CINEMAS and vehicle recovery depots were among the venues around Wiltshire used to train police dogs.

And to thank the owners for their hospitality the county force staged a special display showcasing some of the animals’ skills.

Dog unit manager Ian Partington said: “It was really about saying thank you and showing these people why the facilities they offer us enable us to do what we do.

“Without these facilities which are kindly provided to us, they’d only ever be able to operate within a field. The dogs can be required to assist frontline police officers at such a wide range of places which will each pose different challenges, so having different venues to train in is such a huge advantage.”

Among the sites used were a manor house, a football club and a golf club.

Wiltshire Police currently has 12 dog handlers and 25 police dogs including general purpose dogs, drugs, cash and weapons search dogs, explosives search dogs and firearms support dogs.

“It is all about the dogs’ noses,” said Ian. “The dog’s nose is a biological miracle and can do things that no equipment would ever be able to do. It’s a unique area of policing – the dogs all live with their handlers so they have a really strong connection but they have to train regularly to ensure they don’t lose any of their skills.”

PC Steve Duffy, one of the trainers, added: “We can’t train the dogs in a sterile environment. We need to make it as real as possible for them so these venues help us do that. It’s really good to have a big portfolio of properties to choose from and we are really grateful to everyone involved.”

During the display, the venue owners had a chance to meet some of the dogs and were shown a range of their skills including a chase and detain, recall, biting and searching.

Chairman of Melksham Football Club Darren Perrin said: “When Ian asked if the dog unit could use the football ground for their training we were more than happy to say yes, and just delighted that we are able to help the police.

“It has been a real eye opener to come and hear all about how the dogs work, some of the things they can do is just phenomenal.”

Anyone who owns a large area of land, or building including unoccupied property, and would be happy to allow Wiltshire Police to train dogs there are encouraged t get in touch by emailing ian.partington@wiltshire.pnn.police.uk