THE youngest - and cutest- new recruits at North Yorkshire Police have been unveiled by the force’s dog handling team.

The three puppies are Tyke, a three-month-old German Shepherd, and Toby and Sam, who are both 14-week-old Springadors, who will join 34 other crime-fighting canines across the county.

Each puppy will love with North Yorkshire Police dog trainers for the next 13 months before they start their specialist training courses.

Tyke has been earmarked as a general purpose police dog while Sam and Toby will be trained as specialist detection dogs, trained to sniff out items such as drugs, explosives and weapons.

Sergeant Simon Whitby, who heads the force’s dog section, said: “They may be energetic and lively bundles of fun at the moment but they are already in training for their future careers.

“During their puppyhood, they will be socialised with other police dogs, the wider community, and faced with day-to-day situations.

“This is to ensure they are comfortable and confident with the many situations they will be faced with during their career which will include tracking violent suspects, searching for missing people and sniffing out suspicious objects. Their suitability as police dogs will be continually assessed.”

Once the dogs have passed all their exams, they will be licensed police dogs and will train and operate with their permanent handlers.

Sergeant Whitby added: “They are cute, cuddly and bursting with energy at the moment but one day they will be instrumental in protecting our neighbourhoods and keeping the communities of North Yorkshire as safe as possible.”