Dog to become fire investigator

A Springer Spaniel is to become Scotland’s first ever full-time fire investigation sniffer dog.

Billy the crime-fighting springer spaniel, from Middlebie, Dumfries and Galloway, will be equipped with protective boots, originally designed for hill walking, to keep him safe from glass and debris.

The six-year-old Spaniel can smell a cigarette lighter in the middle of a field and has been specially trained to seek out petrol and fire accelerants from the scene of a fire up to a week after the blaze.