A police dog has been hailed a hero after helping to detain a suspected thief in Newcastle.

At about 1.30pm on Sunday afternoon police received a report of intruders at a residential property on Cardigan Terrace in Heaton.

A neighbour had reported seeing a teenage boy using loppers to try and gain access to the address while three others watched on.

Officers were deployed to the address but the teenagers had already left the scene after failing to gain access to the house.

Police dog Max then leapt into action and led officers straight to a suspect who matched the description of one of the four teens at the address.

He was arrested by his handler PC Adam Fegan and officers later found him in possession of a wallet believed to have been stolen.

Now PC Fegan has paid tribute to his pooch and said the arrest showed the important role the dogs can play in supporting operational policing.

He said: "We had some really good descriptions of the suspects from the neighbour but we had no idea where they had gone.

"Max was deployed and he did what he does best and followed his nose straight to a group of suspects.

"When we got there the lad in question had a think about driving away on his scooter but he clearly changed his mind after seeing Max.

"Not only did Max follow his instincts but he stood up for himself when it mattered and we were able to detain the suspect safely.

"It was all in a day's work for him and he was rewarded with what he loves most in the world - his big yellow tennis ball!"

The 16-year-old boy arrested has since been summonsed to court for one count of theft from a motor vehicle and one count of attempted theft from a motor vehicle.

He will appear before youth court at a date to be confirmed.