BELGIAN shepherd Bailey has been named top dog at Olympia, in the country's most prestigious agility contest.

The three-year-old won the title for owner and handler Geoff Hollis, of Appleton Wiske, near Northallerton, at the international show jumping championships in front of 10,000 spectators.

Taking first place in the Pedigree All Stars competition was made all the more impressive for Mr Hollis, 49, as Bailey is the first dog he has trained from scratch.

"I just could not believe it. Olympia is the prestige event - it's the place to be. There are so many people it's just a blur really," he said.

"We were running at number four so I had another six dogs to watch, but they just kept making mistakes and picking up penalty points."

Bailey and a rival dog both had clear rounds, but Bailey's superior time made him the overall winner of the engraved crystal bowl.