A POLICE officer has been fined after admitting he hung a police dog by its lead and forced it over a 5ft jump.

PC Mark Daniel Edgar was taking part in a routine training exercise on April 17 when he made what was described as a "grave error" by forcing his police dog Hax over a training wall.

Bournemouth Magistrates Court heard that the 36-year-old officer used both his hands to lift and suspend Hax, using the lead as a hoist, after the dog refused to scale the wall.

Edgar, of Weymouth, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the German shepherd dog. He was fined £255 and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.

Claire Toman, prosecuting, said the incident happened after Hax stopped and refused to jump the 5ft wall.

"At this point PC Edgar used both his hands to lift and suspend Hax using the lead as a hoist," she said.

The court heard that the dog was not physically injured after the incident at Weymouth Police Station but that witnesses described Hax landing awkwardly on the other side.

After the incident, the dog needed two weeks of training for him to regain his confidence. He has now been assigned to another handler and works as an active police dog.

In defence, Sumyana Sharma said that PC Edgar had a 12-year unblemished police record and provided three character witnesses.

She said: "It was an extremely grave mistake and as an animal lover PC Edgar knows what an effect he would have had."

She explained that at the time of the offence PC Edgar had received some distressing news about a family member and that clearly affected his actions.

Following the complaint PC Edgar had five months off work due to stress but has now returned as a patrol officer.

Following the sentencing superintendent Charlie Eggar, head of Specialist Operations at Dorset Police, said the officer's behaviour had fallen short of expected standards.

"As soon as we were notified of the incident we took immediate steps to ensure the dog is safe and well," he said.

He added that the dog was immediately re-assigned to another dog handler and PC Edgar was moved from the dog section.

PC Edgar will now face a disciplinary hearing.