Police dog Ernie has been hailed a hero after intervening in a gang fight.
The German Shepherd was on patrol when his handler spotted a youth on a moped acting suspiciously.
Seconds later the youth pulled a knife on a passer-by, who, in turn, also pulled a knife.
But Ernie was quickly deployed to diffuse the situation.
A police spokesman said: "We quickly joined in to backup our teammates and arrests flew for a collection of offences. A total of four knives were recovered along with a quantity of drugs. The moped was also seized."
Dozens of people have now taken to Facebook and Twitter to praise Ernie, who is a member of Merton Police K-9 unit.
PD Ernie + @MPSKingston & @MPSMerton intervene in a gang fight. One detained by PDErnie, knives,drugs and a stolen moped recovered. top dog pic.twitter.com/1MU2VvvATG
— MetTaskforce (@MetTaskforce) October 18, 2017
One person said: "Big hug for Police Dog Ernie" while another said: "You are my hero of the day!"
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