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The 11-year-old police-mad boy managed to raise £150,000 for Brain Tumour Research before he died.

The force surprised the family of Finlay Church at his old school with the pooch

A new West Midlands Police dog has been named in memory of a boy who dreamed of becoming a police officer.

German Shepherd Finn is named after 11-year-old Finlay Church who managed to raise over £150,000 for Brain Tumour Research and Birmingham Children’s Hospital before he died from brain cancer in November 2015.

The boy, who had a passion for policing, organised a series of fundraisers after his diagnosis including achieving a world record for the longest line of teddies.

After making an “unforgettable” impression on staff when he achieved a long held ambition to spend a couple of days with the force, they decided to name one of their latest crime fighting hounds in his honour.

Police staff surprised Finlay’s family by arriving at his old Alvechurch Middle School with the 12-week-old pup last Friday while they were organising a fundraising Wear A Hat Day in aid of brain tumour research.

Finlay’s mum Penny said: "This is the most wonderful gesture to have a police dog named in honour of Fin.

"West Midlands Police has always been incredibly supportive of us and our fundraising work and to keep Fin’s legacy alive in this way is very humbling.

“He loved dogs and desperately wanted to be an armed response officer so this really is a fitting tribute.

“We can’t thank the Dogs Unit enough for enabling police dog Finn to live out Fin’s aspirations."

Family, friends and the force have carried on raising money for Brain Tumour Research and last year West Midlands Police hats helped to set an unusual record relating to headwear placed in a row as part of their efforts.

Sergeant Phil McMullen, who took part in some of the charity events, said: "Finlay was an aspiring police officer and we were all deeply saddened when he passed away.

"He wanted to help others which is one of the greatest qualities a PC can have

"We had discussed the idea of naming a police dog after Finlay and this seemed a nice time to surprise his family.

"Finn the dog struck up an instant bond with them and we hope he will soon be out on the beat to help the public - just like his namesake."

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