Dave Kelsall, chief inspector and head of Staffordshire’s armed dog support unit, said: “Police dogs are part of our policing family, one of the team, and as such should be seen and valued the same as our police officers.

“This is why Staffordshire police, along with our national colleagues, gave our police dogs collar numbers.

“Providing personal issue body armour is the next step to ensuring we protect our dogs, who face the same danger as our police handlers.

“In fact, they are even more likely to be the first ones running towards the threat. They now have the same level of protection in order to reduce the risk of serious injury, or worse, being killed in the line of duty.”

The custom-made, lightweight armour comes in different sizes and has a material in its lining that was originally designed for space suits to dissipate the heat away from the dog’s body. Forces have been trialling armour for durability, protection and ease of movement for the dogs.

There are estimated to be more than 2,500 police dogs employed amongst the various police forces in the UK, with the Belgian Malinois the most popular breed for general purpose work.

All British police dogs, irrespective of the discipline they are trained in, must be licensed to work operationally. To obtain the licence they have to pass a test on the completion of their training, and then again every year until they retire, which is usually at about the age of eight.