
Three men have been jailed after a police dog chased the attempted robbers through Wigan.
The trio were sentenced at Bolton Crown Court to a collective 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted robbery offences.
In the early hours of Friday 1 July 2016, three masked men carrying a hammer, a gas canister and a baseball bat attempted to take clothing and money from a couple’s car, before the woman managed to chase them off.
By this time officers had arrived at the scene and were helped by a passing taxi driver, who stopped and showed them which direction the offenders had fled.
Police dog Paddy was deployed and found clothing and a gas canister which belonged to the offenders.
At the same time, plain clothed officers saw the three men walking along a road nearby, who had clearly been down the same wet and muddy path as the dog.
All three were then arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery.