EMBER the borzoi may be a grand old lady of the dog show world but she’s not ready to hang up her collar just yet.

Because at the age of nine-and-a-half, she has just won her most prized trophy for best of breed at Crufts.

Ember belongs to Ita Godden, from Upstreet, near Canterbury, who is delighted with her success.

She said: “She has won lots of prizes at shows previously but seems to get better and better with age.

“We were competing in the veteran borzoi class and I was so nervous I was shaking when we made the shortlist.

“When the judge picked out Ember, I was over the moon because we honestly went to Birmingham not expecting to come away with anything. But she is very laid back and takes everything in her stride.”

Ember is one of a family of six borzois, also known as the Russian wolfhound, which Ita and husband, Derek, share their home with.

They also show a number of their other dogs but none is as successful as Ember, who show name is Stonebar Blushing Flame over Beamer.