Two men pleaded guilty to burglary at Hatfield Magistrates’ Court after a police dog caught them red-handed at a building site in Bushey.

At around 9.30pm on Wednesday, June 24, an alarm went off at the site in Sparrows Herne and a person was seen in a secure area. Officers, including a handler and his dog, were sent to the scene to investigate.

It was soon discovered a padlock to the site had been forced open so Police Dog Tai was deployed into the site by his handler. Tai’s acute sense of smell soon picked up a scent and he led his handler down a ramp and into an underground area.

The large German shepherd kept tracking and took his handler towards a door in a rear storage area. Two men then came from behind the door and to be confronted by Tai barking loudly.

Both men were wearing gloves and a number of nearby doors in the storage area had been forced open. With Tai and his handler in control, both men were arrested without incident.

Thirty-two-year-old Gheorghe Cercel and 43-year-old Marin Constantin, both from Harefield Road in Dagenham, were charged with burglary and appeared at court on Friday, June 26.

Both men pleaded guilty to burglary and were made subject to community orders. Both had to pay a victim surcharge fee and costs amounting to £295 each.

Sergeant Vicky Stoughton said: "This is a great example of how our dogs and handlers can work with other officers across the counties and successfully help them arrest offenders.

"Tai’s nose was put to excellent use and quickly led his handler to the two men. I imagine it would have been quite surprising for them, as surely they weren’t expecting a fully grown German shepherd to greet them after opening a door. I’m very proud of Tai and his handler’s work in this incident."