MEET Bobby the sniffer dog, the 18-month-old English springer spaniel who can now be used by high school headteachers across the borough as part of a radical drive to keep drugs and weapons out of classrooms.

Bobby is employed by the Bury-based company, Premier K-9 Detection Services, who have already carried out a surprise swoop on one local school this year, where one drug user was uncovered.

With the new academic year under way this week, the firm is again offering its services to headteachers across Bury with the message: "If there are drugs, guns or ammunition anywhere on your property, we guarantee to find them."

Though the company also searches social-purpose' premises like homeless hostels and drug rehabilitation centres, it was founded in January primarily to counter the growing drugs problem in the country's schools. Last September, a Channel 4 investigation revealed pupils as young as ten were acting as drug dealers. Four of them - one from Lancashire - were caught by police and officers also caught some nine-year-olds in possession of illegal substances. One of three partners in the company, John Sheridan, said he could not name the Bury school in which they had already operated due to confidentiality agreements, but he said the visit was such a success, they have been invited to come back on a term-by-term contract.

"The head of governors at the school said it was the best thing they had ever spent money on in all his time there," said John who, along with his colleagues Lee Donovan and Phil Heyf, has been trained in drug awareness.

The trio formed their business plan while working within Bury Council's community safety department.

John explained: "We arrange with the school a time to go in and, on arrival, we carry out a demonstration and show our clients paperwork about the dog's training history that removes all doubt about just how effective our searches are.

"Headteachers can hide a swab of marijuana or heroin trace anywhere on the premises they like and our dog will find it very quickly.

"From there, we start our real search, classroom by classroom. Teachers will be in lessons and order pupils to leave their jackets and belongings where they are and move into the corridor.

"Each search takes about five minutes per classroom so the children aren't interrupted too much.

"The search we did at the Bury school took a total of two hours. In that time we went through all the classrooms, other rooms and the school grounds.

"During that time, we had one hit, in which the dog detected the smell of a drug on a jacket.

"The school didn't take any action against an individual pupil, but it allowed the school to take other appropriate action."

Bobby was taught by a former Merseyside police officer who supplies detection dogs to international security groups.

The animal is trained to Home Office standards and can detect drugs, guns or ammunition that have been buried, stashed in rooms or are being carried by people.

Mr Roger Holt, Bury Council's children's services head of quality and advisory service, said: "Schools in Bury are encouraged to have drug education policies that have agreed responses and procedures for managing the broad range of potential situations involving illegal and other unauthorised drugs.

"Underpinning these policies is a clear message to the whole school community that the possession, use or supply of illegal and other unauthorised drugs within school boundaries is unacceptable.

"The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has issued comprehensive guidelines to schools in developing a policy for drug education including the circumstances and good practice relating to searches for drugs on school premises.

"In recent years the use of sniffer dogs, either by the police or private companies, in detecting the presence of illegal drugs has grown.

"Guidance to schools states that the use of sniffer dogs can be part of their wider strategy where there is a belief that there is reasonable evidence of possession or supply of suspected illegal drugs.

"However, schools embarking on the use of sniffer dog searches without the authority of a police warrant should exercise extreme caution and ensure that any action is consistent with DCSF guidance and their own published policy.

"Bury is not perceived to have a major problem with drug abuse in schools."

To contact Premier K-9 Detection Services or to find out more, click on the link below.