An off-duty police officer and his trusty dog tackled a burglar who smashed his way into a Rosehill supermarket.

The whole incident was caught on CCTV and shows the officer's dog wagging his tail happily as he restrains the would-be thief on Sunday, March 23.

Off-duty police dog handler PC Andy Spearing was driving home from work when he heard a series of loud bangs coming from the Co-operative in Wrythe Lane at around 3.30am.

He saw Morden man Daniel Hilton, 38, standing with a large hammer next to a smashed window so he drove around the roundabout and returned to the store.

He got his German shepherd dog from the car and saw the suspect in the shop.

PC Spearing shouted to tell him he was a police officer and to drop the hammer but Hilton refused and started to climb out of the hole in the window towards the officer.

Fearing for his safety, the officer tried to push Hilton back inside with his foot and warned him he risked being bitten by the dog if he did not drop the hammer.

The criminal ignored the warning and launched himself at the officer.

As the pair wrestled, the officer commanded his dog to 'stop him', prompting the canine to bite the burglar and force him to the ground.

When backup officers arrived they found the officer restraining the man with his dog by his side wagging his tail and barking at the Hilton.

Hilton, of Rosehill Court in Green Wrythe Lane, was taken to hospital for treatment to a dog bite before being taken into custody at Sutton police station.

He appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court via video-link on Monday and pleaded guilty to burglary with intent to steal.

He was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison.