A POLICE dog tracked a man who ran away from officers hiding in a garden shed.

Phantom was tasked to search for a man who ran from police and started garden hopping in the Angmering area, on Saturday, November 14.

Police said was wanted for a breach of conditions having been released from prison.

A number of officers helped to contain the area while PC Jamie Jackson searched gardens with his canine counterpart.

The newly-trained police dog is among several German Shepherd puppies bred by the Surrey and Sussex Police Dog School in 2018 who are starting to find their feet – or in this case, paws.

Before long, Phantom indicated on a shed in Lawrence Avenue.

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PC Jackson said: “The shed was stacked with chair cushions, garden furniture and tools. I asked Phantom again to ‘find him’, and he started to scramble to the back of the shed. I made my way to the back corner of the shed with Phantom, where he barked at tabletop covering the bottom corner.

"I lifted this tabletop and saw the suspect hiding underneath it. I withdrew and called the suspect out of the shed, who said he was giving up as long as the dog didn’t bite him.”

The suspect was subsequently arrested by assisting officers and has been released under investigation, pending further enquiries.

Phantom, who is around 20-months-old, is qualified as a general-purpose police dog, trained in various disciplines including searching open ground or buildings for suspects, tracking suspects or missing people, and searching for discarded property.

His siblings who are also newly qualified include Perry, Piper, Percy, Panza and Paws.

PC Jamie Jackson, of the Surrey and Sussex Police Dog Unit, added: “Currently, Phantom is a young, big bundle of excitable energy and at times mischievous but with a great personality.

"He loves going to work and is always extremely keen every time the tracking harness comes out.

“We have recently come off our initial course and I have been absolutely delighted by this result after all those weeks of training. Hopefully, this shows that he is starting to transfer his skills into the real world.”