A YOUNG girl has been left devastated after two puppies she was given to console her following an accident were stolen.

When Emma Jones had her little finger amputated after she trapped it in a gate, her mother, Karen, bought her a present that was bound to put a smile back on her face.

Lurcher puppies Lass and Sox quickly became a part of the family, and ten-year-old Emma, from Darlington, played with them for hours on end.

Miss Jones said: "Emma crushed her fingers in a gate in North Park and had to have the little one amputated.

"I bought the dogs from a friend to keep her mind occupied while she was off school."

Overnight on Sunday, the two puppies, now four months old, were stolen from their pen in the family's back garden in Eldon Street.

Miss Jones said: "We woke up to find the pen door open, the gate open and a trail of meat leading out the garden.

"Somebody must have been in and tempted them away."

The incident has left the family, including Philip, 17, Charlie, eight, and Arron, four, devastated. Miss Jones has contacted the police and driven for miles looking for the dogs.

She is offering a reward for their safe return.

Lass is white with brown patches on her head and Sox is brown with white paws and a white flash on her chest.

Anyone with information has been asked to call (07731) 692161.