Police appeal after five dogs stolen in East Sussex

In the early hours of Thursday (May 14) three English Springer Spaniels were stolen from an address in Brightling.

Then, late on Saturday (May 16) or early Sunday morning (May 17), two more dogs were stolen from Bodiam.

Lucy Gaunt, the owner of the dogs stolen in Brightling, said she is offering a £1,000 reward for the safe return of all three.

She said her dogs were stolen after thieves cut the heavy duty padlock to gain access into the main kennel block and proceeded to cut the internal padlocks into the individual kennels where the three pets were kept.

Lucy said: "Our family is devastated and I have had two sleepless nights we just need as much help as possible please. We do have a £1000 reward for the same return of all three of our girls."

The incident has been reported to the police and Lucy urged anyone with information to contact Sussex Police quoting the reference 228 of 14/05.

Anyone with information about the incident in Bodiam should contact Sussex Police quoting the reference 262 of 17/05.

Rother Police said: "Please take extra precautions to protect your dogs from thieves by ensuring that microchip contact details are up to date, take good quality up to date photos of your dog and where possible ensure your dog wears a collar with contact details on, or an engraved ID tag. Please don’t leave your pets tied up outside shops or alone in cars, ensure your gardens are secure and locked, and ensure your dog doesn’t stray too far.

"Anyone who suspects their dog may have been stolen should immediately contact police, contact their microchip company to register their pet as stolen and inform vets, dog walkers and neighbours.

"We are working with many partners to investigate these thefts, however you may well hold a piece of information that could help us, if you have seen or heard anything in connection with these thefts please contact us by calling 101 or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111."