dog who helped over horror crash

RELATIVE'S BELONGINGS AT SCENE

- By Sophie Finnegan

A POLICE officer had to search through the scattered belongings of his dead relative in the aftermath of a horror crash that also left a baby boy dead.

But PC Dan Cuthbertson and abandoned spaniel turned police dog PD Louie went on to find key evidence that would eventually help bring killer driver Darryl Anderson to justice.

Louie became Durham Constabulary's first ever digital detection dog after he was found dumped on a Gateshead street and then rescued by a dog shelter in Northumberland, where he was spotted by a sergeant from the force.

The three-year-old cocker spaniel was trained to become a digital detection dog, and just months later played a crucial role in investigating one of the most harrowing road collisions the region has seen in recent years.

Eight-month-old Zackary Blades and his aunt, Karlene Warner, 30, were killed when drink-driver Anderson, smashed into the car they were in on the A1M last year.

Examinations of Anderson's mobile phone showed that the 38-year-old, of Clarell Walk, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, had been making calls and sending texts throughout his journey from Newcastle Airport to the scene of the crash, between Chester-le-Street in County Durham.

Digital detection dogs, such as PD Louie, are trained to sniff out digital devices that may be hidden or missing, such as laptops, mobile phones and hard drives. The dog and his handler, PC Cuthbertson, were called upon to find Anderson's phone in the aftermath of the crash. And PC Cuthbertson, who is related to Karlene, had to put his own grief aside to carry out the vital search.

And the duo have now been honoured for their work after winning the Rising Star Award at the Thin Blue Paw Awards, organised by The Thin Blue Paw Foundation, a charity that protects and supports serving and retired police dogs across the UK.