A police sniffer dog who has helped protect the Queen and Archbishop of Canterbury has retired.

Bailey also helped protect people at the Open Golf Championship in Sandwich in his first year of service in 2011.

The 10-year-old pointer, who is an explosives detector, stopped working yesterday.

He joined Kent Police when he was two and his primary role was to search buildings and areas of high footfall.

He carried out numerous royalty protection services including searching train carriages before the Queen travelled in them.

Bailey also helped protect the Archbishop of Canterbury for major religious events and worked at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales.

He also helped in security at other major sporting events including the London Paralympics in 2012.

PC Nigel Marshall, from Kent Police’s Dog Unit at Maidstone, said: "Bailey has continually proven himself to be an incredible asset to the force and everyone at the dog unit is sad to see him leave.

"The time has however come for him to retire and we are pleased to have been able to find a loving home for him, where he can enjoy his retirement safely away from the frontline."

Read more: All the latest news from Sandwich