A SNIFFER dog discovered a ‘tricky’ water pipe leak in the Lake District.

Denzil is United Utilities’ leak-detecting super hound that finds the burst pipes other technology cannot.

After months with dwindling water supplies, residents near Little Langdale near Ambleside were facing the prospect that their leak may never be found.

The small collection of just four homes was connected to the public water network by a private supply pipe running about half a kilometre across open fields.

They knew where the pipe joined United Utilities’ water mains network but being an old private pipe, its location was not marked on any surviving plans.

Anxious to help, United Utilities water customer manager for Cumbria, Mike Welch drafted in dog trainer Luke Jones and his springer spaniels Denzil and Kilo to try his luck.

Mr Jones said: “It took us a couple of hours, because there were so many places the pipe could be, and there were several fields to cover. Basically we walked back and forward in lines across each field until Denzil picked up the smell. I used Denzil rather than Kilo because he is more experienced. For one we had to search about 20 fields. It took a week, but he found it.”