TRIBUTES have come flooding in for a heroic dog who spent a decade searching for people at disaster sites.

Border Collie Byron has dealt with emergencies across Hampshire as well as working on international disasters.

The 11-year-old was one of the most highly trained dogs in the world, having passed the UN's Mission Readiness test in Dresden, Germany.

Byron, who lived with his handler Robin Furniss in Stockbridge, was deployed to Japan to search for survivors after the tsunami hit in 2011 and had completed urban search and rescue exercises in Germany and the Czech Republic.

Closer to home, he was called to collapsed buildings in London and a gas explosion in Woolston.

Mr Furniss said: "He was a proper dog, among the best. He had a phenomenal nose and was a favourite of the team.

"He was extremely hard working and even though he lived with me I think he would have been offended to have been called a pet - he was part of the family."

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Prince's Trust posted on Twitter saying Byron's death was "heartbreaking" while Hartley Wintney fire station described him as "an amazing dog".

The courageous canine died last week in relation to a spinal injury he picked up in training as a puppy.

He astounded top vets at the time by making a recovery and returning to work after a programme of medication, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy.