POLICE dog handler PC Martin Swain and his canine partner PD Kaiser have been recognised on the national stage for their outstanding operational work.

The duo were awarded the National Police Chiefs' Council Police Dogs General Patrol Dog Award, celebrating the best canine crimefighting in the country.

PC Swain has been with Essex Police for 19 years, spending the past decade as a dog handler.

Kaiser is a five-year-old German Shepherd general purpose police dog who lives at home with PC Swain.

Their partnership began when Kaiser was just eight weeks old, with PC Swain puppy-walking him and guiding him through training to become an operational police dog.

Describing Kaiser, PC Swain said: "He's very determined and very demanding, he loves work and he loves to play. He's a joy to work with, but he's also a challenge. He's everything you could want in a police dog. He's not a mundane, robotic dog – he's the complete opposite of that."

The pair were nominated for the award following a year of exceptional operational work, including helping to detain suspects in challenging circumstances.

During one chase on the A13 through Thurrock, Kaiser followed a suspect into a deep water ditch, putting his own safety at risk and even going under during the stop.

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He has also continued to detain an offender he chased into a field despite being repeatedly assaulted, as well as carrying out long and complex tracks to locate burglary suspects.

Reflecting on their achievements, PC Swain said: "We were lucky enough to be nominated for the work we've done over the past year, but a lot of that is down to Kaiser.

"He's an exceptional dog – I just hold on to the end of the lead! We work really well together, and he's done some unbelievable work."

Despite the individual recognition, PC Swain was keen to highlight the team behind their success.

"I'm incredibly proud of Kaiser, and we've never won anything like this before but it's really for the whole Dog Section, the people who helped train him and all the officers who do the work that leads to these deployments. It's a real team effort.

"He's a great dog and it's the highlight of my career, for sure."

PD Kaiser has lived with PC Swain since he was an eight-week-old puppy.