A BORDER collie given away because he would not work has won through to the world sheepdog championships.

White Rose Josh, owned by Derek Bowmer, is also father of the Blue Peter puppies born a month ago.

Mr Bowmer, of Scotton, near Catterick Garrison, was given Josh as a year-old dog when he refused to work sheep for his former owner.

"He was just a late developer," said Mr Bowmer, who runs a smallholding and trains dogs since having his sheep flock culled during the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001. "A sheep dog usually starts to get the idea for work at about six months but Josh was a late starter at 15 months."

He and Josh, now seven, travel to Tullamore, Southern Ireland, to take part in the world championships, which begin on Thursday and run until July 10. They will compete against 240 dogs and handlers from 21 countries. They qualified during last year's English national contest at Peacehaven, Sussex.

Josh was introduced to Meg, the Blue Peter dog, after Mr Bowmer trained the animal for the children's television programme. The resulting five pups were born on May 26