Leading West Midlands Police dog handlers have been recognised at an awards ceremony to mark their bravery in the line of duty – action that’s seen them tackle armed offenders and uncover drug stashes.

PC Paul King has been named the force’s Dog Handler of the Year, whilst PC Scott Moulsher has been honoured for the most courageous act of 2011 in which he and German shepherd Aztec squared-up to three hotel knife robbers.

Notable successes in an outstanding year for PC King include uncovering a £50,000 Handsworth drug haul – which had been stitched into the back of an armchair – and tracking two gunmen hiding in bushes.

Drugs dog Benn sniffed out the heroin whilst, with general purpose dog Ford, PC King worked 18 days straight during the summer 2011 disorder, tackling rioters head on, making several arrests and helping to bring peace back to the region’s streets.

PC King has been runner-up twice before for the award – but this week the 36-year-old finally got his hands on the coveted award at a presentation ceremony at West Midlands Police’s Lloyd House HQ.

Dog Unit Manager, Inspector Russ Evans, said: “Over the past year Paul and his dogs – drugs dog Benn and General Purpose dog Ford – have been a formidable team, being influential in securing a high number of arrests and recovering a large quantity of drugs.

“Paul is a great ambassador for the Dog Unit; he’s proactive in the community and received countless letters of thanks for the time he takes to visit schools and groups with his dogs to talk about their work.”

The award coincides with the force today (Thursday) showcasing a number of dogs on the website as part of the Letters of the Law initiative and D for Dogs. The initiative hopes to give people more of an insight into some of the dogs and the specialist roles they perform everyday.

PC Moulsher and PD Aztec were first on the scene at a robbery in Coventry’s Chace Hotel, London Road, in April last year when they confronted three knifemen who’d already attacked a night porter.

They repeatedly barred their exit, stalling the trio for vital minutes whilst armed back-up was deployed, before chasing down one offender as he ran through the foyer and finding another hiding up a tree!

The three men were later jailed for a combined total of 17 years.

Both officers are based at Canley police station and Coventry Police Commander, Chief Supt Andy Nicholson, said: “We are blessed to have great dog handlers in Scott and Paul. They fearlessly display devotion to their duty…they’ve backed officers up on countless occasions, often in the face of violent offenders, and continually disrupt the activities of acquisitive crime offenders.”