BESS, the one-year-old police dog who hit the national headlines when she went AWOL in Savernake Forest, has passed her initiation tests and is now a fully qualified member of Wiltshire Constabulary's K9 corps.

The jet-black German Shepherd bitch, last week passed her big test to become a general purpose police dog with the Wiltshire force and now holds an official licence to track, search, chase and even bite when necessary.

She was tested by a Home Office assessor, Pete Greenfield from Surrey Police, and underwent some tough tests to make sure she has the necessary skills and ability required to become one of the elite crime-cracking canines in the county. Bess was given to the force last November as a leaving present from the

former force director of finance, Roy Denning, upon his retirement after 52 years. She was bred from two top-notch working dogs from Thames Valley Police and is one of the youngest dogs to become licensed in the UK.

She has been "running in" and training with her handler, PC Mick Ware, who covers the Kennet area, since November.

In January this year, she gave him a fright when she ran off in the Savernake Forest while training. Luckily, she was found by picnickers and returned to Mick safe and sound, but managed to make the national headlines in the process.

Mick Ware said: "I'm really proud of Bess and the way she performed in her assessment."