Five intruders force their way into home and steal six French bulldog puppies

'Dogs can very much be members of our families and I can’t imagine the pain of not knowing where they are or when they will be seen again'

Don, Django, Scarface and Brutus: four of the six French bulldog puppies stolen from a house in Rochdale (Greater Manchester Police)

Police are hunting for six puppies stolen from a house in Greater Manchester.

Officers were called to reports of five intruders forcing their way into the property in Partington Street, Rochdale, at about 9.40pm on Saturday before before making demands for mobile phones.

The group then searched part of the house, took the six French bulldogs, and left.

Fortunately no-one was hurt during the incident.

An investigation is on-going to find the offenders and the missing puppies named Don, Django, Brutus, Scarface, Savage and Queenie.

Detective Sergeant Richard Shelton of Greater Manchester Police’s Rochdale Borough urged people to study the photos released of the dogs.

“Although no-one was hurt during the incident we need to make sure the puppies are safe and returned to their home as soon as possible,” he said.

“Dogs can very much be members of our families and I can’t imagine the pain of not knowing where they are or when they will be seen again.

“Take time to study the photos we’ve released of the dogs – they are pure pedigree and all under one-year-old.

“I need people to be on alert and call us if they either noticed something unusual last night or if they have been offered one of the puppies.”

The descriptions of the dogs are as follows:

• Don is lilac/tan coloured and is eight months old
• Django is chocolate/tan coloured and is eight months old
• Brutus is chocolate coloured with green eyes and seven months old
• Scarface has a white/grey merle coat and six to seven months old
• Savage is lilac/tan coloured and two months old
• Queenie is grey coloured with short legs and seven months old

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 4810 quoting reference number 2351 of 28/04/18 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.