AVON and Somerset Police are appealing for venues in the force area to train their police dogs.

Officers are looking for any empty or disused buildings for their firearms support/general purpose German shepherd dogs.

They would also be interested to hear from anyone who knows of any office complexes, large houses, colleges, stadiums or other venues for their drugs or explosive search dogs.

The dogs can happily search safely around people, so the premises do not need to be empty like the ones required for the German shepherds.

A force spokesman said: "If you have empty buildings awaiting to be let or sold, we would be interested in these too, even if they are only available for a few weeks - our dog handlers (and dogs) would be extremely grateful.

"It is really important for the development of our police dogs that they receive training in realistic venues to prepare them for operational duties."

Anyone who can help should contact dog training manager Denis McCoy on e-mail at denis.mccoy@avonandsomerset.pnn.police.uk