A YOUNG family have been left heartbroken after their miniature pet horse was stolen while they marked Halloween.

Richard Gale said he had been stunned to find the 30-inch tall coloured mare missing from a field in Moorsholm, near Guisborough, at 11.30pm on Friday (October 31).

The computer programmer said the red and white horse had been a beloved family pet since they bought her from a Bishop Auckland breeder and had been kept alongside five other horses, including the mare's half-brother.

Mr Gale said after spotting broken fencing rails he initially thought the horse may have escaped, but then noticed two of the other horses rugs were missing and found 4X4 tyre tracks leading to the damaged fence.

He said he was dreading having to tell his five-year-old son and two-year-old daughter about the theft and believed the horse had been stolen for breeding.

Mr Gale said: "It is like a nightmare, the children are attached to her - she's a horse that will follow you around all day long, consistently wanting attention.

"We are not interested in the people who have taken her, we just want them to put her back somewhere and let us know."

He said since alerting Cleveland Police his family and friends had distributed scores of posters appealing for the return of the horse, whose name is being withheld to prevent pet passport fraud.

Any with information should call police on 101, Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555111 or Mr Gale on 07734-649308.