An appeal has been launched to find the owner of a dog which has been temporarily adopted by Oldham police.

Greater Manchester Police shared on their Oldham pages on Facebook that the dog had been found on Rothesay Road in Watersheddings and has now been taken in by the force.

The pooch was taken to Oldham Police Station, where officers have named him Police Dog Dave.

However, police are looking to locate the owner of the dog, saying it has been chipped but not registered.

Police said that while the dog has been a "valuable addition" to the force, he would have to be put in kennels if they cannot reunite him with his owner as police do not have the ability to hold dogs for long periods.

Many people on social media commented on how skinny the dog looked, saying it looked like it had not been fed properly in a while.

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One commenter wrote: "Poor things been starving for a while by the looks of it."

Another wrote: "Aww he looks really skinny bless him. I'd have him in a heartbeat."

According to the Metropolitan Police, dogs taken into police care can only be kept for 14 days.