Police Dog Deaths

An investigation is underway into the deaths of two Metropolitan police dogs after they were left in a car in Kent on one of the hottest days of the year.

The adult Belgian Malanois and the German Shepherd puppy were found collapsed in an unventilated private car at the MET's training centre in Keston, near Orpington on Sunday morning.

Staff smashed their way into the vehicle to rescue the dogs but the animals did not survive.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "On Sunday June 26 at approximately 11am, staff at a Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) building were alerted to two police dogs having been left in an unventilated private vehicle.

"Entry was forced to the vehicle and two MPS dogs were found in a state of collapse. Both were taken to an emergency vet's, where they subsequently died.''

An officer has been treated for hand injuries following the deaths of the two dogs.  The officer, who has not been named, was found in Newham in east London and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. 

Britain's most senior police officer has said he is "very saddened'' by the deaths of the two dogs. Sir Paul Stephenson said Scotland Yard was taking the matter "very seriously'' and carrying out an internal disciplinary inquiry alongside the RSPCA investigation.