Ah, here is Pc Ian Sutherland, of the Northern Constabulary, fulfilling Hamish MacBeth-type fantasies, although the West Highland White terrier, Bruce (what else?), belongs to his predecessor, Pc David Inglis, left.Pc Sutherland, 41, saw off competition from officers all over Britain keen to police 900 square miles of mountain and moorland in north-west Scotland. Is it any wonder? The area has a population of just 1,100, and a record of around 10 crimes a year, none of them serious. The last major incident was the sudden death of Robin Cook, the former foreign secretary, while walking on Ben Stack in 2005. Pc Inglis never dealt with a single murder, drug offence or serious crime in his nine years on the beat and investigated only one break-in. In July last year, his final month in charge, he tackled one unpaid restaurant bill of £11, a minor road accident and investigated the unexplained death of a sheep.
Unlike Hamish MacBeth, played by Robert Carlyle in the BBC series of the mid 1990s, Pc Sutherland doesn't have a Westie to take around in his van and will patrol instead with his alsatian.
Isn't that little dog just adorable?