Lucy bow-wows out of her cracking job . . .

BOWING OUT . . . Lucy with dog unit manager Mike Dewar of Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service

A FIRE investigation dog takes her last bow this week after more than 10 years' service.

Lucy the fire dog - codenamed Cracker - has hung up her protective boots and passed over her duties with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to her replacement Eric.

The dedicated crew member is ready for retirement after attending many high-profile incidents including arson, serious assault and murder.

Lucy began working with Mike Dewar, GMFRS dog unit manager, in 2007 and has focused on tackling arson by detecting petrol, paraffin and white spirit which are often used to start fires.

The Labrador has a sense of smell 200 times more sensitive than that of a human, perfect for sniffing out signs of ignitable liquids.

In 2009, Lucy's work proved vital in finding evidence relating to a suspected arsonist.

She was let loose on a large search area and after an hour she negotiated a river and indicated there was something hidden thick brambles.

Mr Dewar said: "She ran full speed towards some brambles that would have been inaccessible for a person. I noticed something black in the brambles - it was a backpack that contained a tin petrol can.

"This was later used as a key piece of evidence to prosecute the arsonist." Lucy's efforts were again successful in Ashton-Under-Lyne where a man had been murdered and set on fire.

Wearing in a forensic dog suit, to ensure any evidence was preserved, Lucy's two-day search led to the suspect receiving a 30-year jail sentence.

And in March 2010 she was called upon by police during an English Defence League (EDL) rally.

A large cache of petrol bombs was believed to have been hidden ready for deployment with the intent to turn the protest violent.

Mr Dewar said: "The search area was quite large but Lucy didn't seem daunted. After meticulously searching in the undercover plain-clothed operation, we concluded the area was safe. The protest was allowed to continue thanks to Lucy's phenomenal efforts to ensure the safety of the public."

He added: "Lucy has served consistently to the best of her ability and far beyond what we anticipated or expected of her. As our official mascot she has been universally adored by the public and staff alike, and as a fire dog she has been an asset to GMFRS and will be greatly missed.

"Eric has some enormous shoes to fill."