Scottish Fire and Rescue's latest recruit has been unveiled, with the four-legged firefighter ready to help save lives across the country.

Mac, a three-year-old springer spaniel, is the new search and rescue asset for the service in Scotland was let loose as part of a training demonstration in Cambuslang.

The pooch recently passed his grading in Merseyside alongside his handler, Gary Carroll, and is already helping to keep communities safe.

Crew manager Gary said: "It's a great feeling to be able to announce Mac as a fully qualified search and rescue dog.

"We've had him since he was eight-weeks old so to get to this stage is a real proud moment.

"Training starts very quickly, for instance with Mac, we allowed him to play with his toys with himself for months and then one day we take the toy away and hide it.

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"Naturally he's annoyed and wants it back but the toy is only returned when he barks - that's how we build his drive.

"It's really important for him to have a high play drive because in reality, searching and finding is just a big game to him.

"If he searches, locates live human scent then barks he's rewarded with his toy.

Despite being based in the north east, Mac and Gary are on call almost constantly and could be called to building collapses and search operations across Scotland.

Living at the Aberdeenshire home, alongside his family, Mac is well settled alongside fellow working dog Diesel, who was also trained by Gary.

The crew manager said his wife Marianne is also a huge help with the dogs, even volunteering to help during training scenarios.

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Gary added: "It's not just me that's been involved, my wife, my family, and the fire service have really helped us and got us to the stage of qualifying.

"There's a few different ways to achieve this outcome, but for Mac it was started in the house - my wife would hide in different places and then reward him for finding her.

"That's then progressed further and we get to the stage we're at today.

"Having two qualified dogs gives me an opportunity to use either where required.

"I'll be able to use them on a rotational basis which can help with things like fatigue during long searches.

"Although Diesel is a bit older now he's still fit, capable and happy so he's able to work on and doesn't have a time set for retiral."

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Group manager Jim Quinn said: "As a national resource that can be used all over Scotland the dogs are a really important asset.

"They are smaller, lighter and more agile than firefighters so they can be sent into collapsed buildings - if safe to do so - where a person could disrupt the rubble further and cause a secondary collapse.

"The dogs help with the safety of our firefighters but are also able to speedily hone in on a specific area during a search meaning we can take a more targeted approach when searching for someone.

"It's fantastic to see Mac join Diesel - Gary and his family have done an excellent job in training the dogs.

"While we hope that no one is ever in the situation where either dog is needed, if the situation does arise we know that Diesel and Mac are able to assist firefighters in getting to you."