A family have been left devastated by the theft of six pet lambs on Easter Sunday.

The Tindale family were shocked to discover that the animals, some only days old, had been taken from a stable at their smallholding in Brancepeth, near Durham City.

They fear that the thieves will not realise that the lambs will starve to death unless they are bottle fed every four hours.

The lambs were given to the Tindales by a local farmer because they were orphans or born as triplets and were not being fed by their mother. The family's daughters -- Elisa, 15, Olivia, 13, Georgia, seven, and five-year-old twins Grace and Anna -- were looking after them.

"They were distraught to find that their lambs had gone on Easter day'' said their mother Lysette.

"They are fed four-hourly so if somebody has taken them thinking they'll sell them as Easter presents has left them somewhere, essentially they will starve to death within a few days.''

The family's house is near the Bishop Brandon Walkway and Mrs Tindale believes the thieves may have seen the lambs before.

"I think they hopped over the fence. They could have parked in the walkway car park. One person could have made a couple of journeys to get them away.''

Mrs Tindale is appealing for help in tracing the lambs and is urging people to beware if they are offered one for sale.

The lambs are female, have black faces and four have blue ear tags. "If someone saw them they would recognise them.''

Police are investigating the theft, which took place between 10pm on Saturday and about 4am on Sunday.

A police spokesman said: "We assume the thief or thieves must have had a vehicle.

"It is hard to imagine someone would have corralled six lambs down the street in the early hours.''

He added: "We don't know what the motive is for stealing them.''

Anyone with information is urged to call Durham City police station on 0191-386 4222.