A POLICE dog handler broke his leg after suffering a 15ft fall while on the pursuit of two men.

Police were called to Great Smeaton, near Northallerton, by a member of the public whose garage had been broken into at 7.22pm last night.

The force was investigating reports of “two suspicious males”.

A North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “Officers attended and commenced a search of the area. During a search of nearby fields an officer from the Dog Support Unit received injuries to his leg whilst crossing difficult terrain near an embankment. He was taken to hospital by air ambulance and received treatment for a broken leg.”

Fellow officers have since taken to social media to wish PC Martin Gayles their best wishes.

Harrogate Police tweeted: "Hoping for a speedy recovery for PC Gayles! Quite a traumatic incident but handled brilliantly by all involved, thank you from the #policefamily."

North Yorkshire K9 tweeted: “A massive thank you to all involved, air ambulance, NPAS Newcastle, Cleveland and Swaledale mountain rescue, not forgetting NYP colleagues who were amazing!”

  • A 37-year-old man from Darlington was arrested on suspicion of burglary and a 24-year-old man from Darlington was arrested on suspicion of burglary and driving a vehicle when over the drink-drive limit. Both suspects remain in police custody.

Anyone with information should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference 12180014385.