A COUPLE from Bishop's Frome have just returned from Germany after winning the individual world championship with their two-year-old Belgian Shepherd dog.

They were also part of Team GB, which won the team competition in the Belgian Shepherd Dog World Agility Championship.

The top 90 Belgian Shepherds in the world competed over three days for the individual title, and 13 teams entered the team contest.

Andy and Helen Brown, of Sweet Pea Cottage, Five Bridges, Bishop's Frome, took the title at the event in Aue, near Dresden, in eastern Germany.

They drove to Kent, then took a 1,200km drive in a team coach from which seats had been removed to accommodate the dogs. The GB team took eight dogs with them. Four were in the side, and the others took part in individual events.

The Browns have nine dogs. Most are border collies, but they also have two Belgian Shepherds, a lurcher and a terrier.

Helen, a professional dog trainer, was the Team GB captain.

It was the first really major success for their winning dog, Heidron Chasing Stormy Skye, the youngest in the competition. But he had won various Kennels Club novice and open events.

Now the couple, and the dog, are looking forward to defending the title at next year's team and individual championships near Budapest, in Hungary.