RESIDENTS in Lifton have been busy raising sponsorship to enable a new puppy, which will be trained as a Medical Detection Dog, to be named after the village, writes Sam Hughes.

Tim Sutton-Woodhouse, who lives in the village and is a volunteer for Medical Detection Dogs, collected around £750 last year, mainly from events in the Lifton area. The money raised was enough for them to sponsor the name of a trainee dog.

Tim is the only volunteer in the Devon and Cornwall area and regularly gives talks to various groups to raise awareness of Medical Detection Dogs.

He said: 'We'll be sent updates on the puppy, which is a Labrador cross, and I will put them around the village so everyone can see. It is great that a dog will be called Lifton, and that the community has really got involved.'

Medical Detection Dogs are trained in the early detection of cancer and other diseases through their sense of smell. There are also medical emergency dogs for people with diseases such as diabetes or Addison Syndrome, where the dog will alert the owner if their blood sugar is about to drop or rise suddenly or they are about to have an attack and fetch their medical kit.

Tim said it is not just about raising money, but about raising awareness as well: 'We're just trying to spread the word at the moment and trying to get the information out there. It makes such a difference to the people these dogs help.'

Tim will be at the Okehampton Open Day on Saturday, for anyone who wants to find out more about Medical Detection Dogs. The open day is being held in Red Lion Yard and will run from 10am to 1pm.