POLICE are urging anyone who is offered a Staffordshire bull terrier puppy for sale to get in touch with them as the animal may have been stolen.

Three puppies from a litter of eight were stolen from a house on Oldstead Court in Hemlington, Middlesbrough, between 1am and 8am today.

The thieves got in via an unlocked front door.

One of the puppies is white with black ears and one is black and white with a lightning strike on its back.

The third is brindle and white, and only has three claws to its left rear paw.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said the puppies, which are only four weeks old, are very vulnerable and should not have been separated from their mother yet.

Each dog is valued at £150.

Anyone with information should contact PC Paul Callender on 01642-303126.