When customs officers at Dublin Airport saw this image on their X-ray machine, they would have been forgiven for thinking they were going barking mad.

The image - a scan of a bag being carried by a passenger arriving from Spain - clearly shows the outline of a Chihuahua dog, staff initially thought it was a stuffed toy.

But on closer inspection they discovered it was alive and had been placed in a small cage and hidden within a holdall bag which was being carried.

The pooch had been smuggled into the country by a man who had travelled from Bulgaria to Madrid and then on to Dublin.

Phew that was close, the last think we need is a terrier, sorry we mean terrorist, on a plane.