The Pet Hero of the Year award has gone to a cocker spaniel who lets his sick owner know when it's time for her to take her medication.

Clive beat more than 200 cats, dogs and rabbits for his ability to detect when his keeper Michelle Rust's blood pressure or steroid levels drop.

The seven-year-old pooch helps Ms Rust, from East Yorkshire, manage a condition known as Addison's disease which leaves her lacking energy and appetite and experiencing muscle weakness.

He does this through smell and alerts her by jumping up and down before fetching her lifesaving medication.

The illness is usually a result of a problem with the immune system and it disrupts the production of steroid hormones aldosterone and cortisol.

Before she had Clive, Ms Rust regularly called an ambulance for assistance but for the last three years she has not had to.

The pair have been together for seven years and he was trained to be a medical alert dog at the age of one.

The Pet Health Club, a national pet healthcare plan, runs the competition.

The prize was an annual membership to the Pet Health Club & 1 year’s supply of pet food.