SCRAPPY the dog is not scared of heights, doesn't mind the cold, and has a nose so sensitive it has earned him a diploma.

The three-year-old Cocker Spaniel works for the County Durham and Darlington Fire Service, where he is tasked with sniffing out the cause of suspicious fires.

Manager of the Fire Investigations Unit, Lee Aspery, said: “We use him for arson investigations once the fire has cooled down. He can sniff out very faint traces of chemicals.

“Teeside University tested his ability to sniff out chemicals and his accuracy was about 97 per cent when compared to the big machines they use in the lab.

“They ended up giving him an honorary diploma.”

Mr Aspery said Scrappy could be a touch excitable and had a nose for trouble.

“He’s a little cocker spaniel and he’s as mad as a bag of fish,” he said.

“One day we were training at the RAF base and he shot off in completely the wrong direction.

“He ended up finding 35 tins of volatile chemicals which had been hidden for years. Apparently the stuff was banned because it kept bursting into flames.”

Today (Wednesday) Scrappy was put through his paces at the Durham station’s four-storey drill tower.

Following the exercise, Mr Aspery said neither the height nor the cold bothered Scrappy in the slightest.

“It’s pointless having a search dog that’s scared of heights, but he’s not softy. He couldn’t care less about where he was.”