Police used a sniffer dog to track down a burglar who stole perfume worth thousands of pounds from Boots.

Officers were quickly on the scene in Fore Street, Hexham after the smash and grab raid at 3.20am on Saturday – with the help of one-year-old police dog, Ulrich.

Within an hour, Connor Crute (20) of Eastbourne Avenue, Walker had been arrested.

He was charged with burglary, and further inquiries found that a blue Ford Fiesta used during the offence had been stolen the night before.

Crute appeared at South East Northumberland Magistrates’ Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to burglary and taking a vehicle without consent. He was given a community order, which means he will carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, a curfew and was banned from driving for 12 months.

Detective Sergeant Jonny Pallace said: “Everyone did a great job. We were able to recover all the stolen property.

“It required quick thinking, intelligence gathering, on scene inquiries and the nose of one of our best dogs.”