Report of attempted dog theft in St. Martins

The incident happened at around 8pm on Monday 22 March, a seventeen-year-old girl was walking her dog along Church Lane, near to the junction of Green Lane, in St Martins, when she reportedly thought someone was walking too close behind her.

She instinctively leant forward and grabbed her dog as she believed that someone was going to steal it and then ran the rest of the way home.

When the victim returned home she has discovered her clothing has been torn and had sustained minor injuries.

Red van in the area

Detective Inspector Dafydd Jones said: “The victim had not seen anyone and can’t describe an offender and nothing was said. I would like to confirm that no knife was seen and the victim suffered no knife injuries. However, she has told us that she had seen a high sided red van at the time of the incident.

“Detectives are investigating this report and would appeal for any witnesses to come forward who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously at the time on Church Lane and the surrounding area. Or if anyone has information about the red van seen as the owners may be able to help with our investigation.

“This was an understandably scary situation and we are to keen establish exactly what happened. I want to reassure the community that we take reports of animal theft and violent crime seriously and keeping people safe and protecting them from harm is at the core of what we do.”

Can you help?

You can report any information online at www.westmercia.police.uk, or by calling 101 and quoting log number 00636i of 22 March 2021.

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers is 100% anonymous. You can contact them online or by calling 0800 555 111.