POLICE pooches have been battling it out to prove who is top dog.

Sussex and Surrey police dogs have been named among the best in the country after taking part in the National Police Dog Trials in Yorkshire.

PC Paul House of Sussex Police and police dog Jax came sixth out of the top 21 dogs and handlers who qualified for the national finals, after going through regional finals.

PC Paul Barnham of Surrey Police was named the national police dog trials champion after he and dog Ethel gained 885 marks out of 1000, beating the second placed competitor by 61. PC Barnham and Ethel also won the Joseph Simpson Trophy for attaining the highest marks in the tracking exercise and the William Palfrey Trophy for scoring the highest marks in the criminal work exercise, including chasing and detaining a suspect and controlling a crowd.