A TEAM of dedicated dog wardens have been rewarded with a gold standard recognition of their animal welfare and charitable work.

Darlington's dog wardens secured the Stray Dog Footprint award granted by the RSPCA to honour good practice, the strength of housing providers and contingency plans for stray animals.

The Darlington Borough Council team have been rewarded for exceeding basic and statutory service requirements.

Andy Wood, Darlington’s dog warden, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to continue to offer a gold standard of service.

"We are a small team and we work hard to ensure the highest possible animal welfare standards in the borough.”

The team were also applauded for their dog food collection initiative which offers collection boxes in Darlington's Whinbush Way Asda, the town centre's Wilkinson's and the council's Central House Annexe, Gladstone Street.

Shoppers are encouraged to buy an extra tin or bag of dog food – or cat food – and leave it in a marked box near the exit.

The food is then collected by the dog warden and distributed between the Darlington FoodStore Network and Deerness Kennels.

Dog food that ends up in the Darlington FoodStore Network goes towards helping families who are finding it hard to feed their pets.

Mr Wood added: “The dog food collection is just one of the things we do to enhance our service and it’s proved a great success.

"We receive regular donations from all our collection points and it really does help make a difference.”