A HERO firefighter is recovering after he was injured on a training exercise in Monmouthshire - black Labrador Reuben.

The five-year-old dog has earned his stripes on various deployments, including the search for a missing person in Abergavenny.

But he came into difficulties earlier this month while searching a tunnel system at the regional training rig at Earlswood between Usk and Chepstow, when he scraped his back on a concrete bar reinforcing the structure.

Concerned colleagues took him straight to the vets where he received antibiotics and stitches.

The brave pup is healing well and should be back on active duty in a couple of weeks.

Simon Comley, his handler since 2011, said: “Reuben is a live person human scent search dog, able to locate either the missing person or the source of the scent if the person is buried under rubble.

“His primary role is to search collapsed buildings, but in Wales our dogs also search open areas. “Reuben is able to cover the ground agilely, searching areas in a fraction of the time required by emergency service personnel.

“This saves on the time required to locate missing persons and the number of personnel required to be committed into sometimes very difficult terrain to perform the search.

“Reuben also covers searches in and alongside water and is able to search from boats and regularly carries out helicopter training including winch training.”