A FIRE dog has been praised after it was called in to sniff out suspected petrol bombers.

Durham Police called in Phoenix and handler Dave Myers, of Northumberland Fire and Rescue's Arson Task Force, after one of their vans was firebombed.

Two home-made petrol bombs were thrown at a police personnel carrier containing three officers and two community support officers in West Cornforth, County Durham, last month.

Phoenix, an eight-year-old Labrador, was sent into the homes of suspects to search for fire accelerants in a series of police dawn raids.

Four people were arrested and later released on bail.

The animal is one of only 13 accelerant detection dogs in the country.

Mr Myers said: '' I've had Phoenix for eight years and trained him myself since he was a pup.

"This is a good example of working in partnership with the police to tackle problems with arson.

"Phoenix plays a vital role in our arson task force team to determine if a fire is arson and help to locate evidence."