Two police puppies have been given Olympic-themed names after the results of a public naming competition were announced.

Essex Police invited people to suggest names for the male and female puppies.

Boris was chosen for the male puppy and Flame has been chosen for the female dog.

Dog lovers across the county helped choose the names for the new arrivals at Essex Police’s Dog Unit after a competition was launched earlier this month asking for the public’s help.

Four-year-old German Shepherd Steffi gave birth to eight healthy puppies on March 19.

Six of the puppies had already been given the Olympic names Bolt, Jackson, Daley, Jessica, Seb and Zara.

Members of the public were then invited put forward their suggestions for the remaining two dogs.

More than 1,300 votes were received in total.

Boris received 43.8 per cent of the votes for the male name and Flame received 51.8 per cent of the votes for the female name.

PC Dave Frost has been overseeing the care of the puppies who are now five weeks old.

He said: "Everyone at the Dog Unit was amazed by how creative some of the suggestions were. We’d like to thank everyone who took part.

"We’re really pleased with the winning names. Boris and Flame are both great names for police dogs and really fitting for the 2012 Olympics.

"All of the puppies are all doing really well and there are plenty of early signs that they could be successful police dogs in the future.”