Great World Cup moments No1

No image captures England's World Cup triumph of 1966 better than Bobby Moore lifting the gleaming Jules Rimet trophy above his head at Wembley after the Final win over West Germany.

But those pictures might have been without a crucial component - the cup itself - if it hadn't been for an inquisitive black and white mongrel dog called Pickles.

In March 1966, just three months before the beginning of the finals in England, the trophy was stolen from an exhibition in Westminster.

The Football Association was castigated across the globe after a nationwide search failed to reveal its whereabouts. A ransom was demanded for the trophy and a man was arrested at a subsequent rendezvous.

But several days after being stolen, the world's most famous football prize was still missing.

Enter, Pickles. The dog and his owner David Corbett were on a walk in Beulah Hill near their south London home when Pickles sniffed at a package under a bush.

There lay the World Cup and, once it had been returned to its rightful owners, both dog and master were showered with rewards for services to the football world.

Pickles even went on to take a role in a feature film as a result of his fame.