ROBBERS stole a dog as it was being walked by its owner in Widnes yesterday afternoon.

The dogwalker – a woman in her 50s – was attacked by two men at around 4pm on Sunday, November 29, on the field running between Wade Deacon High School and Widnes RUFC.

They grabbed the lead before running away with the dog to the alleyway leading onto Lynton Crescent.

But the pair were followed by the victim, who found her pet abandoned without its lead in this area.

Both offenders were described as being white, slim and in their early 20s with a Widnes accent, and were wearing trainers with white soles.

One of them was wearing a blue Pyrenex coat with the hood up, and had mousey hair that was short on the back and sides but had a long fringe.

The other man had short, dark hair and stubble on his face and was wearing a full navy blue Under Armour tracksuit.

Cheshire Police’s enquiries into the incident are ongoing, and officers are appealing for information.

Detective constable Rob Catterall said: “The victim is hugely relieved to still have her dog, but she has understandably been left extremely shaken up by this incident.

“I would like to reassure members of the community that we take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and are doing all we can to establish who targeted the victim’s dog and make them face the consequences of their actions.

“Enquiries are ongoing, and I urge anyone who was in the area and saw anything that may help our investigation to come forward.

“Perhaps you witnessed the incident or believe that you saw the two offenders, either before they snatched the dog or as they were fleeing the scene.

“We also want to hear from anyone who thinks they may know who the men are, or have CCTV or dashcam footage of them.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact the force on 101, quoting incident number IML862397, or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.