TENS of thousands of pounds has been raised for injured servicemen and women thanks to West Mercia Police’s dog section.

The unit organised an action-packed event on Sunday, October 5, and raised more than £30,000 for the charity Help for Heroes.

A merchandise sale at the force HQ raised another £300 and an auction in the near future is expected to up the total by another few thousand pounds.

Inspector Al Short, who organised the event, said: “It was a great success despite the weather.

“Lots of people turned up to support Help for Heroes and have a good time.

“We had a raffle on the day and Chief Constable Paul West came along to give his backing to the event.”

Visitors to the event at the force headquarters in Hindlip Hall, near Worcester, watched dog displays, saw a variety of helicopters and met John Peters, the former RAF pilot captured during the first Gulf War.

They also tried their luck with a paintball range and were entertained by a military band.