Wiltshire’s Police Dog Chiko and his handler tracked down a suspected drunk driver, who had abandoned her crashed vehicle on the A338 near Britford, Wiltshire.
Shortly after 01:00 hours on 13th February, officers from Wiltshire Police responded to reports of a car that appeared to have crashed into a road sign beside the A338 dual carriageway at Britford.
The Ford Focus had a broken window and damage to the passenger side. A witness at the scene informed officers that the occupants of the vehicle had fled the scene.
Local officers, who were supported by specialist firearms and dog units who were patrolling the area, began searching for the occupants. Assisting with the search was Police Dog Chiko, who is trained to follow human scent.
PD Chiko was deployed by his handler to track the occupants of the vehicle and the team quickly located the driver beside a road and a passenger, who was hiding in a nearby garden.
Officers conducted a roadside breath test which indicated that the female driver, who was in her 50s, had exceeded the drink drive limit. She was arrested on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle whilst over the prescribed limit of alcohol and as a precautionary measure, was taken to Salisbury District Hospital as she had been involved in a road traffic collision.
Inspector Pete Sparrow said:
“This is a great example of a skilful and timely response by our officers who were patrolling in the area. They worked together to rapidly identify those involved. This should hopefully provide further reassurance to the public that we are robustly targeting those who flout with law with all the resources at our disposal.”
