What's that dog doing up there?

PEERING through a gap in the wall of a pub in east London, this german shepherd looks more like a gargoyle than a real dog.

The moment the animal put its head through the overflow vent of the building's roof terrace it was captured on camera by John Murray as he walked along the River Lea Navigation canal. It is just one of the unusual sights in a new book revealing the treasures above eye level in London.

Mr Murray spent six years compiling the book. He said: "I had a lot of fun. Often buildings have changed a lot at ground level but if you look up many have stayed the same.

"I once stopped someone in Bond Street and pointed at a glamorous female nude caryatid on one of the buildings. 'My goodness,' she replied, 'I've never noticed her and I've been working here for years'."

Other images include terracotta-coloured griffin-like beasts, which sit on top of buildings in Pont Street, Knightsbridge, and the frieze above Liberty's in Regent Street showing a sculptured audience overlooking a parapet.

London Above Eye Level will be published on 22 November, price £9.99.