Cruel thieves steal a litter of six three-week-old American bulldog puppies worth around £6,000 from the home where they lived with their mother

• The six pooches - just three weeks old - are too young to be away from mother
• The unpleasant thieves are likely to try to sell them on over the festive period
• Detective Sergeant Sam Stuart, of Kent Police, said they are keen to locate them

Cruel thieves have stolen a litter of American bulldog puppies worth around £6,000.

The six pooches - who are just three weeks old - are too young to be away from their mother and will become ill without her.

They were snatched from a property in Rochester, Kent, around 10.15pm on Friday. 

The thieves are likely to try to sell them on over the festive period.

Detective Sergeant Sam Stuart, of Kent Police, who is investigating the case, said: 'We are keen to get these puppies returned home as quickly as possible.

'They are far too young to have been taken from their mother at only three weeks old.

'In the run up to Christmas puppies become an attractive commodity and we would ask people who are thinking of buying one to be 'Puppy Smart' and follow the RSPCA guidance.'

The theft of the puppies comes just days after thieves used a drone to stake out a garden before snatching a therapy dalmatian belonging to an autistic girl in Leicestershire.

Pet detective Colin Butcher said he experiences an increase in inquiries during the festive period as crooks meet a surge in demand for popular breeds.

Mr Butcher, a former inspector for Surrey Police who is now director of the UK Pet Detectives, said the thieves who took the American bulldogs in Rochester could get up to £850 per puppy.

'Demand at this time of year is higher and thieves know it will be easier to convert the dogs into cash,' he said.

'They will target the designer breeds, either to order or simply because they know they will be able to move them on. No dog thief wants to be stuck with an animal they can't sell on.

'And it makes sense for them to target a litter of puppies – it's six dogs for one robbery rather than just one, plus they will not yet be microchipped.'

In Leicestershire, Chloe Hopkins, 11, has cried herself to sleep every night since her 'best friend' Lottie was stolen in Peatling Parva last Sunday.

Her mother Gemma believes the dog was targeted as she is a rare breed, and said she had seen a drone above the garden before the theft.

'Chloe and Lottie are inseparable. She helps Chloe calm down – she's her best friend,' Mrs Hopkins told BBC News.