AN AMAZING lifelike cake in the shape of a dog was delivered to officers at a police station.

Gatwick Police were delighted to receive an edible replica of a police dog yesterday.

The culinary creation, a large Alsatian, was whipped up as a way of saying thank you to the force for their continued law enforcement work in the area.

Gatwick Police shared an image of the cake on social media, as well as a message of gratitude to the talented baker responsible for it.

It read: "Thank you to the member of the public who sent us this amazing cake with a message of appreciation for the work we do."

And it is not just Sussex Police's human workforce who have been busy over the last few months.

On November 17 last year, police dog Finn was tasked with finding a vulnerable man in dense woodland in Faygate, near Horsham.

The Alsatian's keen nose led him to the man in less than three minutes.

Police had been alerted to the situation after the subject was reported to be intoxicated and wearing only a dressing gown in the early hours.

Officers searched the woods but, having found nothing after an hour, they called in the Sussex Police Dog Unit.

Dog handler PC West attended with her canine counterpart to assist, PD Finn, who put his nose to work and managed to locate the man lying on the floor just minutes later. He was taken to a place of safety.

PC West, of the Surrey and Sussex Police Dog Unit, said: “PD Finn is a five-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd general purpose police dog, who is trained to search for people and property. He is a cheeky chappie and loves being at work supporting officers in the best way he can.

“Our role is not always about catching criminals; in this case, PD Finn has potentially saved the life of a vulnerable man and I’m very proud of him.”