YOU would normally associate sniffer dogs with anything related to the police - helping them sniff out drugs, explosives and criminals.

But, for the first time, former police service canines are being given new jobs, helping Lancashire's gas engineers find the tiniest of leaks in underground pipes.

Ex-police dogs, Nelly, Midge and Milly have been specially-trained to detect the smallest traces of gas, and have started leading engineers from the region's gas network, Cadent, to the source of the tiniest of cracks in gas pipes across the North West.

Cadent heard about former police dog instructor Steve Foster and his specially-trained springer spaniels, and brought them to the North West for the first time this month, where they spent their first two days at incidents in Blackburn and Manchester.

David Leah, a repair team leader for Cadent said: “When we dug down to where the dogs detected something, it was spot on – or, a foot away at most. It was unbelievable.

"The dogs are going to be a great asset for us.”

Over the two days, Nelly, Milly and Midge worked in Skelmersdale, Huyton, Blackburn, Stockport, Oldham and Middleton, looking for previously elusive points through which water was getting into gas pipes.

Rachel Endfield, Business Improvement Specialist in Cadent’s North West network, whose idea it was to bring the dogs to the North West, said: “When water is getting into a customer’s gas supply, it can be extremely difficult to locate the source of the ingress.

"Sometimes it can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Water will get in through the tiniest of cracks, which can cause problems for our customers.

"It can stop gas getting through and they could lose supply.

“We’re determined to find innovative ways to tackle this and prevent our customers from losing supply."

Steve Foster, whose dogs have worked on more than 200 jobs since switching to gas detection work in 2017, said: “Some escapes can be really, really difficult to find.

"The dogs’ noses are thought to be anywhere between 10,000 and 100,000 times better than a human’s nose. So, they can find minute amounts of gas.

"That can be all you need, the golden nugget the engineers need to start with.”

The sniffer dogs are due back for another two days in the North West later this summer, when they will be working in Accrington, Nelson and Colne, as well as Garstang, Thornton Cleveleys and Lytham St Annes.