Police forces must change the way they recruit dog handlers after a female officer won a landmark sex-discrimination case showing that the system was too “tough” for some women.

WPC Kim-Louise Carter was awarded £15,000 after failing a fitness test which involved a 10-mile run, then carrying a dog over a course before running with it a further 100 yards.

The employment tribunal was told how three forces - Gloucester, Avon & Somerset and Wiltshire - all used the same exam which resulted in many more men being recruited as dog handlers compared to women.

Although Judge Street, who presided over the hearing, demanded that the three forces must review their shared exam course, the ruling could affect other constabularies where women officers have struggled to complete an arduous fitness test.

Miss Carter, 31, told the tribunal sitting in Bristol that she became exhausted and unable to walk while trying to complete the uphill dog carrying section of the exam known as “The Long Walk” in wet and muddy conditions. The dog she was carrying, called Hulk and weighing 35kg, was considerably heavier than the dog she had had earlier, called Fizz.

She said: “One stage of the test included a tough 10 mile run and my legs felt like jelly. One dog I had to carry was 35kg and I became exhausted and my legs would not work.”