A 12-week-old puppy has been separated from her mother and four brothers by thieves.

Bluebell, the only female in the litter, was grabbed from its home in Stockbury, near Sittingbourne.

Owner Di Butler said whoever was responsible for taking the puppy had to scale a 7ft-high fence to get inside the paddock where the dogs have their kennels.

Mrs Butler said the racing greyhound puppy’s mother, Tootsie has been “distressed” since Bluebell disappeared on Sunday October 8.

“We’ve got a big, high chain-link fence around us, so whoever climbed over would have needed help. There were no tyre marks on the track outside.

“The dogs were fed their breakfast at 9am and at 3pm we noticed Bluebell was missing.”

Since the puppy was stolen Mrs Butler has put up posters in the village shop and around the area, including vets’ surgeries.

“It’s very worrying. They had obviously gone to some effort to get in and get her and they only took Bluebell, not the four male puppies.”

Mrs Butler and husband Ray have been breeding greyhounds for more than 15 years. “We’ve never had a problem here before,” she said.

Bluebell was given her name because of her very distinctive blueish coat. The theft has been reported to Maidstone police.

Anyone with information about Bluebell’s whereabouts is asked to call Mr Butler on 079099 33222.