A MONUMENT is to be sited at a Kent school in honour of a firefighter and his search dog.

Fireman Dave Hudson, who lives in Broadstairs, is watch manager at Ramsgate fire station, the oldest operational fire station in the UK.

He works closely with Meg, a Springer spaniel, who lives with the Hudson family and works with the fire team.

The pair were chosen by Rebekah Moore and Toni Brown, students at St George’s School, Broadstairs, as nominations for local heroes in an inter-school initiative run by Zurich Insurance.

Other nominations from the school pupils included former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, championship boxer Takaloo, and Victorian novelist Charles Dickens. Students had to submit a basic design and give reasons for their choice.

History teacher Denise Brooks, who entered the Year 9 students into the competition, said: "A monument will be built in honour of Dave and Meg and will be sited in the campus.

"It is a terrific way to acknowledge the courageous work carried out not just by Dave and Meg but by all fire crews and rescue dogs, local and national."

As well as the monument for the school, Rebekah and Toni each receive MP3 music players, and the history department wins a digital camera.

A spokeswoman for competition said: "The idea is to uncover local heroes that schoolchildren today would like to preserve for the generations of tomorrow. The judges were particularly impressed at the high level of thought, creativity and effort expressed in this entry which was voted the clear winner."

Dave first became interested in search dogs after seeing them training in Texas. He said: "I quickly realised what an essential ‘tool’ search dogs are to an effective search and rescue team.

"On Boxing Day 2003 our team was one of those deployed to Bam in Iran after a massive earthquake. While I was there I witnessed the dogs working and had the opportunity to converse at length with the handlers.

"This was the defining moment when I realised that I wanted to train a search dog. I sourced Meg from a friend who is a successful gun dog handler/breeder. Meg has a terrific play drive which is essential in a good search dog and as such has made training her relatively easy. She has a lovely temperament and is a pleasure to be around.

Meg is a true outdoor dog who is kennelled in the garden at our home in Broadstairs. Being by the sea, she loves to swim and play in the surf even in the winter."