Police investigating the theft of two Labrador dogs in Nantwich have released CCTV footage of two men they want to speak to about the incident.
The low-quality footage shows two men running along Market Street with the two black Labradors shortly after the dogs had been stolen from outside a Marks & Spencer store on Beam Street.
And officers have appealed for any witnesses or anyone with CCTV or video footage to come forward.
The Labradors’ owner had tied the dogs up outside the main entrance of the store before going inside to do some shopping.
The dogs were untied and stolen shortly after 6pm on Saturday March 27.
The men in the CCTV footage are both white, have average builds and short dark hair and had dark footwear on.
The man holding the dogs’ leads was wearing a dark jacket and light jogging bottoms.
The man running in front of him had a black jacket and dark pants/jeans on. He was carrying a dark bag.
Nantwich community has rallied around devastated dog owners Dale and Charlotte Robson, launching a social media and poster campaign to try and find their dogs.
They have released more images of their beloved pets in the hope someone will spot them and come forward.
Detective Sergeant Vicki Shelton, of Cheshire Police, said: “The dogs’ owner is understandably deeply upset.
“Pets are part of the family and having them stolen is a harrowing and distressing experience.
“I would like to reassure members of the community that we take incidents of this nature extremely seriously.
“We are doing all we can to establish who stole the dogs, make them face the consequences of their actions and have the pets returned to their rightful owner.
“Enquiries are ongoing and I urge anyone who believes they may know the identities of the men in the CCTV footage to get in touch.
“You cannot see their faces clearly in the footage but we are hoping that some members of the public may recognise them from their builds, the clothes they were wearing and the way they run.
“We also want to hear from anyone who witnessed the dogs being stolen or has any other information that may aid our investigation.
“Perhaps you think you know where the dogs are, or have CCTV or dashcam footage that may be relevant to the investigation.”
Anyone with information or footage that may help the investigation is asked to call Cheshire Constabulary on 101, quoting incident number 21000195850, or give the details via https://www.cheshire.police.uk/ro/report
Alternatively, information can be reported to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously
(Images courtesy of Dale Robson)
Honestly, the town centre is circled by CCTV cameras and if that’s the best quality they can produce, what is the point? You’d have to be carrying a printpout of your passport the size of a lottery winner’s check and hold it up to the camera to be identified.