The officers, from the north of England, and their canine companions were taking part in the regional police dog trials at the base.

And they were put through a series of tests including crowd control and search and tracking exercises.

PC Ian Halton of West Yorkshire Police’s dog training centre, helped organise the trials.

He said: “The trials are voluntary, not compulsory, but they are extremely important as they allow us to judge our standards against the standards of other forces.

“It also allows us to be independently assessed by judges from other area, so we can ensure we have the very best dog handlers possible.”

Handlers and their dogs had to try to control an angry mob of men who threw liquids at them and shouted aggressively to replicate what they might encounter at a heated football match.

They also had to complete a tracking exercise, which involved keeping their nose to the ground and following an 800-metre trail though various terrain as well as the all-important obedience trails such as heel work and agility.

Their final test of the two-day trials was to search out two suspects in woodland.