A dog found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966

The football World Cup trophy is probably the most iconic prize in the world of sports. Every four years, a total of 32 countries and a host of superstar footballers contest for the iconic trophy which was designed by Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga.

But the current trophy wasn't the one which FIFA started out with as World Cup winners prior to 1970, were given the Jules Rimet Trophy.

The last team to win the Jules Rimet trophy was Brazil, who won the World Cup in 1970 for the third successive time. At that time, FIFA regulations stated that any nation winning the World Cup three times would become permanent owners of the Trophy. But not many would remember that the piece of history was stolen just four years prior to Brazil's 1970 triumph, report agencies.

One of the biggest investigations in Scotland Yard's history was solved by incredible dog named Pickles. On March 20, 1966, the World Cup trophy was stolen while it was on public exhibition at the Methodist Central Hill in Westminster, London.

Luckily it was recovered by a canine hero who has gone down in history as the most famous dog in British sport.

In 1966, England managed to win and lose the FIFA World Cup in the same year. Prior to the tournament, while on display at a stamp exhibition in Westminster Central Hall in London, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from under the noses of its guards.

There were supposed to be two of them standing beside the trophy case at all times during opening hours, but on March 20, the second day of the exhibition, they failed in their duty. That same day, a church service took place in another part of the building, filling it with people.

During their noon circuit, the guards discovered that the rear doors of the building had been forced open and the display cabinet broken into. The trophy, which had been awarded to World Cup winners since 1930, was gone.

A thin man hanging around earlier in the day was all the police had to go on. The thief ignored the stamp collection - valued at around £3 million - taking only the £3,000 trophy.

Three days later, the Football Association received a ransom note. An undercover police officer took fake money to an arranged spot and met Edward Bletchley, a petty thief. He was arrested, but didn't have the cup, insisting he was only a middleman. No-one else was ever found regarding the crime.

Seven days after the theft, a collie called Pickles alerted his owner, David Corbett, to a newspaper-wrapped package in a hedge near his home in south London. The pooch had sniffed out the abandoned World Cup.

Pickles became a minor celebrity after his discovery, and both man and dog were invited to the celebration meal after England won the tournament in July; he was even allowed to eat from his owner's plate. Pickles died the following year, but such was his legacy that his collar is on display at the National Football Museum.

This wasn't the last time the World Cup was stolen. In 1970, the trophy was gifted to Brazil in perpetuity after they won the tournament for a third time, and a new one designed for future World Cups. The original was stolen from the Brazilian Football Confederation building in 1983; it hasn't been seen since.