A drugs detection dog had a quiet night when he was used to sniff out illegal substances in Oxford city centre.

Black Labrador Benson out on patrol in the centre of Oxford

As revellers enjoyed a night out on Friday, Benson was taken on patrol in the George Street area, sniffing passing drinkers for drugs.

The specially-trained black Labrador can tell if someone is carrying drugs, or if they have handled or been near them in the previous 36 hours.

The dog and its handler, Phil Munt have been hired by Oxford's Nightsafe project, an initiative jointly run by organisations including the police, the city council and Oxford City NHS Primary Care Trust, which was set up last year to clamp down on violent behaviour caused by city centre binge drinking.

Mr Munt is managing director of Corporate Search, a company which owns 15 drugs detection dogs.

His and Benson's work on Friday was the second time they have worked with police in Oxford.

Five people were pinpointed for having drugs in their possession in the past 36 hours, although there were no arrests, and police said it was a quiet night.

On Friday, July 8, the dog sniffed out eight people with drugs. Police cautioned them all and confiscated drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Nightsafe manager Karen Crossan said: "This is about being proactive, but showing people who come for a night out to leave their drugs at home. We don't want them in the city centre."

"A person may have been in someone's house where there were drugs the day before and the dogs can tell.

"They indicate purely by sitting. We don't get them to bark.

"When they're doing large queues it's easier to have the dog just sit there. Then police can take the person away and search them properly."

Labradors are chosen for the job because of their non-threatening behaviour.

Miss Crossan said: "We're giving out the message to people that we don't accept drugs in the city centre.

"People ask us what the dogs are doing and we explain to people so they're aware that we will be bringing drugs dogs.

"It's great for the dogs, as they get longer to sniff people when they're stroking them. We don't have any negative feedback."

Insp Graham Sutherland, of Oxford police, said: "Benson is a useful tool for us to identify drug users before they go into pubs and clubs. It gives us an indication of what types of drugs are in the city, who the suppliers are, and who the users are."