OWNERS from Whitehill and Bordon got their dogs microchipped for free at an event run by East Hampshire District Council.

New laws say all dogs over the age of eight weeks need to be microchipped by Wednesday, April 6.

The district council’s animal welfare service offered dog owners the chance to have the procedure done for free at The Phoenix Theatre and Arts Centre, in Station Road, on Tuesday, between 10am and 1pm, and between 16 and 20 dog owners took advantage of the session.

Council animal welfare officer Natasha Watson said: “There is a huge demand for this service as we had a queue of dogs and their owners out of the door when we held it in Alton.

“Microchipped animals are much easier to identify and have a much better chance of being returned to their rightful owner if they are ever lost.”

Microchipping sees a tiny computer chip implanted into the dog - a painless process which takes seconds.