Bristol cat flap gang steal puppy and handbag

Thieves used a cat flap to steal an eight-week-old puppy from a house in Bristol.

Mother-of-three Catherine Spalding woke up to find chocolate Labrador Bonkers had been taken from the kitchen of their home in Salisbury Road, Redland, while she and her family were asleep.

She says the theft has devastated her sons Oscar, seven, and Freddie, five, and has made a desperate appeal for the puppy to be returned.

Thieves broke open a sealed cat flap at the property and are believed to have dragged Bonkers through it late on Saturday night or early on Sunday morning. They also poked a rod with a hooked end through the flap to grab Mrs Spalding's handbag from the kitchen.

Dentist Mrs Spalding, who is married to Tim, was told by police officers investigating the burglary that gangs of thieves were targeting homes with cat flaps in the Bristol area.

She said: "It's so difficult to tell the boys that their puppy has been taken in the middle of the night – it's heartbreaking.

"They've been doing posters and things to keep them busy but I'm sure the people who took Bonkers are trying to sell her.

"The police told us it wasn't the first time cat flaps had been used in burglaries. They told us thieves used fishing rods attached to hooks made from wire coat hangers or magnets to steal keys.

"We were told that gangs had been targeting south Bristol but now they had moved over to this area. Apparently they go around the houses checking the cat flaps.

"Bonkers probably saw the rod come through the cat flap and thought it was a game and grabbed on to it. My handbag was taken but someone found my purse in Cranbrook Road on Sunday and handed it into police so that has been returned to me."

The Spaldings, who also have a 10-month-old baby called George, still have one pet – a two-year-old rescue dog called Lola.

Mrs Spalding said Bonkers was wearing a rainbow-coloured collar when she was stolen. The family had paid £350 for the pedigree puppy in Hambrook just two weeks ago and she had not yet been microchipped.

Wayne Baker, spokesman for Avon & Somerset police, said: "The theft appears to be an isolated incident carried out by an opportunist thief.

"There have been previous examples of thefts of property via dog or cat flaps, particularly in the summer. The police advice to homeowners is to make sure that cat flaps are always secured at night and that doors and windows are locked when the property is empty.

"Keys should never be left in locks and all valuables should be kept out of sight and reach."