SWEDISH Valhund Alfie, owned by Debbie Howe, of Taunton, won a best of breed award at top dog show Crufts.

Debbie said it made getting up at 4am to go to the show at the NEC in Birmingham worthwhile.

She added: “This is probably the highlight of the year. We’ve done so much work and we’ve been coming to Crufts for so long but it still feels so special.”

Other owners celebrating were Exmoor’s Lucy Waldon, whose Kelie Missy was second in the Kennel Club Agility Novice Cup for large dogs and Taunton handler Simon Molloy, whose Leonberger Cara also won best in breed.

Mr Malloy said: “Cara is a lot of hard work, a real handful, that’s why I love showing her for the owners.

“She gets too excited when it comes to training and shows but she managed to keep her composure to win.”