A council dog warden who has made several high-profile rescues this year has been recognised once again by the RSPCA.

Swale Borough Council and its dog warden Mel Herbert have been awarded with another Gold Pawprint Award for the stray dog service and its first ever bronze award for animal licensing.

It is the 13th time the council has been honoured by the animal charity.

The gold award recognises the stray dog service for excellence in animal welfare and the bronze award shows it is understanding of animal licensing legislation and practices.

In recent months, Mel and a very small handful of helpers have rescued and cared for many abandoned dogs across Swale.

Last month, seven fox red labrador pups, who were suffering from mange when they were discovered along the A249, were rescued by the dog warden.

One died, however, the six others are set for a career with the prison service.

Mel has also helped an underweight American bully, and a cocker spaniel who had injuries comparable to being thrown from a car.

The 30-year-old began working for the council four years ago - and she hasn’t looked back.

She said: "I feel incredibly proud at helping secure the two awards for Swale.

"Both myself and everyone associated with the stray dog service and animal licensing team work tirelessly to provide an excellent service, so to receive recognition for that is lovely.

"High standards of animal welfare will always be our ethos and that will never change.”

Cllr Julian Saunders, chairman of the environment committee at the council, was also pleased to hear the news.

He said: “We’re delighted with these awards. They highlight the important work our teams do, day in, day out.

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of stray dogs in Swale and we work hard to give them a high standard of care.

“We have to meet strict criteria to be awarded gold for our stray dog service, including having highly-trained officers, ensuring stray dogs get the medical treatment they need and having a committed kennel provider.

“We also do lots of proactive work in the community, attending events to check and insert microchips, and promoting responsible dog ownership."

Mel was also nominated for the special recognition award for her dedication and commitment.

Cllr Tim Valentine, vice chairman of the environment committee at the council, said: “This is the first time we’ve been recognised in the licensing category, so we’re pleased to receive the bronze award.

“We’re responsible for inspecting and approving numerous animal activity licences, ranging from zoo licenses to doggy day care and pet shops.

“We take animal welfare in Swale very seriously, and these awards show our commitment and hard work has been recognised.”

For news on stray dogs found in Swale, follow the Swale Borough Council Stray Dog Service Facebook page here.

To report a stray dog during normal office hours, call 01795 417850 where arrangements will be made for the dog to be collected.

If a dog is found between 5pm and 9pm on weekday evenings, or between 9am and 9pm weekends and bank holidays, the public should ring the out of hours service on 07795 237479.