Dog who helped police Queen’s funeral dies in crash

A police dog who took part in Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral has died following a car crash, his force has said.

PD Bert, a five-year-old springer spaniel belonging to Cleveland Police, was in a dog support unit vehicle with an officer and another dog when it collided with a BMW in Hartlepool at around 21:00 BST on Thursday.

Both dogs were taken to the vet, where due to the severity of his injuries, PD Bert was put to sleep, the force said.

The other dog was found to be unharmed and the officer suffered minor injuries.

A 33-year-old man was arrested following the incident and has been charged with drink driving, but police said it was continuing to investigate the “full circumstances”.

The suspect has since been bailed and is due to appear at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on August 1.

PD Bert had served with Cleveland Police as a sniffer dog for three-and-a-half years, tasked with detecting drugs, cash and firearms.

He was praised by the force for once using his sense of smell to locate £250,000 in a single search.

He, along with the other dog and their police handler, had been responding to an emergency incident when the crash occurred.

PD Bert was deployed to London in September 2022 as part of the policing operation around the late Queen’s funeral, when an estimated one million people attended to watch the procession through the capital.