Thieves sniffed out by police dog after Cheshire oil refinery break-in

Two men from Liverpool fled the scene and hid in undergrowth but were eventually tracked down by police dog Toro

Two thieves who broke into a Cheshire oil refinery have been arrested after being tracked down by a police dog.

Officers were called to Stanlow Refinery in Ellesmere Port following reports of intruders on the site at around 9.30pm on Saturday (February 25).

Police dog Toro and his handler assisted officers on the ground with the search of the suspects and located two men hiding in undergrowth around two hours later.

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The men fled but PD Toro located and detained one of them who was arrested. A short while later the second was also sniffed out by PD Toro.

Cheshire Constabulary said the men - both from Liverpool and aged 34 and 35 - were arrested on suspicion of theft. The 34-year-old was also arrested on suspicion of possession of a knife.

They have both been released on conditional bail pending further enquiries.

The Cheshire and North Wales Police dog unit posted on Twitter: "Last night two males broke into a site to steal cable. PD Toro attended and after a lengthy search located the males hiding in undergrowth.

"Both males ran. Toro detained the first male and then continued the search and removed the second male from his hiding place."

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