Six dogs at Manchester Airport helped customs find 181 kg of meat and 46 kg of cigarettes over a seven-month period, but the dogs did not turn up any of the smuggled drugs they were expected to root out.

The findings were included in a report by inspectors who visited the airport.

According to the report, one dog made “multiple accurate detections, but most were of small amounts of cheese or sausages”.

The report said the seizures represented a “low return on investment”.

Managers are now trying to find out how better to deploy the dogs.