Five stolen dogs from Orpington have been found in Bexley after the van they were in was hot-wired by thieves.

This morning, Deborah Fisher, of Chalk Pit Avenue, appealed for any information after her four rescue dogs and her friend's Beagle were stolen last night at around 7pm.

At 10am, a man phoned Deborah's friend, Emma Stevens, and informed them that he had spotted the van in a car park in Bexley.

The van had been abandoned and Emma asked the man to look for any sign for the dogs inside.

Emma said: "He'd knocked on the side of the van but there was no noise, but we still rushed down to his location.

"When we got there I opened up the van and thankfully all five dogs were safe and sound inside.

"They were thirsty, hungry and a bit traumatised but they were all safe and sound.

"When Deborah arrived with her other friends she practically colapsed out of the car.

"It's still sinking in, we're so happy we've found them all.

"We'd like to say a bug thank you to our friends, families and the kind strangers that helped us get the dogs back!"

Deborah had locked the vehicle on her driveway the night before as she was bringing in the last of her shopping into her house.

She said: "It must of happened so quickly. I had two bags of cat litter in the front seat left to bring in.

"I still had the keys in my pocket, they broke into the van and left the bags of cat litter in my driveway. They were gone."

Pictures show that the van appeared to have been hot-wired.

Gallery1

Emma said: "Nothing was stolen, the van had been hot-wired and tipped upside down inside but nothing had been taken.

"We just have no idea why the dogs and the van were stolen.

"The dogs are so happy to be back with their owners and we're currently speaking to the police about what happened."

Anyone who may have any information about the theft is asked to contact Deborah on 07726 051338 or 0844 8003220.

The Met Police has been informed, anyone with information can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Read more: All the latest news from Bexley and Bromley

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.