A GERMAN shepherd dog named Guinness is the toast of Northamptonshire Police after he tracked down a suspected drink-driver accused of crashing his car into the front of a post office.
Residents in New Duston awoke with a bang in the early hours of Sunday morning when a silver BMW ploughed into the front of the post office, at the junction of Main Road and Port Road.
The crash happened at around 4am on Sunday, after the driver apparently lost control on a corner, and completely demolished the front of the shop, leaving bricks, glass and shop goods strewn across the pavement outside.
The driver was believed to have then fled the scene.
However, within 20 minutes, Guinness, one of the police force’s sniffer dogs, then led officers from the scene to a house.
A 38-year-old suspect has now been arrested and is due to appear in court next month on suspicion of drink driving.
Yesterday, the silver BMW remained lodged in the front of the shop as engineers assessed whether any structural damage had been caused to the building.
A baby seat in the back and a deployed airbag could still be seen inside the car.
Police said the vehicle would only be removed once they were sure doing so would not cause any additional damage to the building.
A police spokesman said: “Police officers were called to an incident at New Duston post office in Port Road just before 4am on Sunday.
“A silver BMW crashed into the window of the post office and the driver had left the scene. Dog handlers and German shepherd police dog Guinness were called to the scene to search for the suspect.
“Guinness led officers to the home address of a suspect who was arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
“A 38-year-old man has now been charged and is due to appear at Northampton Magistrates’ Court next month.”
The spokesman said they were still waiting for engineers’ approval before removing the vehicle.
She said: “Officers carried out a scene guard at the post office until 8.30am on Monday to secure the premises. The car will be removed from the post office once structural engineers have assessed the damage to the building.”
The owners of the post office yesterday declined to comment.