A distressed farm owner told today how she watched thieves drive away with her beloved Jack Russell terrier.

Georgina Blundell, from Pasture Farm, Stadhampton, was working last Thursday when a white Ford Transit van backed into her private yard and stole her treasured pet, Poppy.

She ran to try to grab the dog from the thiewves but before she could reach it, the dog was bundled into the F-reg rusty van and the raiders drove off.

The driver, a fair-haired, slim man, thought to be about 35 to 40-years old, was with a dark curly-haired woman and a boy aged about seven.

Oxford city dog wardens are now warning that the theft of dogs around the Oxfordshire area is becoming a regular occurrence.

The thieves appear to be mostly interested in greyhounds, Jack Russell terriers and spaniels. It is believed they are wanted for hare coursing.

Dog owners are being advised not to leave dogs unattended in gardens and to keep them locked in the house, if they are going out.

The thieves have been spotted using red or white transit vans.

Anyone with information should telephone police.

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