Staff at a boutique bridal shop were left reeling after a £1,500 wedding dress was stolen by a bride-to-be.

Sales assistants at Christina K Bridalwear, in Royal Star Arcade, Maidstone, were helping a young woman and her family choose a gown for her special day.

But while one assistant went to look for accessories and the other went into the changing room with the woman, the £1,485 Pandora dress went missing along with the four family members.

It was only when the girl left promptly afterwards that staff realised the dress was missing.

They alerted the arcade's security guards, but the suspected thieves got away. It is thought they might have hidden the dress in a pram.

It happened last Friday at around 4pm.

Shop owner Krystyna Kuszyk-Yeomans, 36, suspects the dress was stolen to be worn at a wedding, rather than to be sold.

Now, she is appealing for it to be returned. She said: "It was a huge sparkly fairytale dress from the new Ronald Joyce collection and it will difficult to replace because we have to order those dresses months in advance.

"It was the only one we had. I know that style is very popular but can't imagine someone being so desperate to have it as to steal it. We'd love to get it back if anyone knows where it is."

She added: "It is very upsetting for the members of staff who acted in good faith and tried to help the customer as best they could. They were not suspicious, the family seemed like usual clients.

"In 12 years of running the business I have never experienced anything like this."

Police will be reviewing CCTV footage as part of their investigation.

So far, no arrests have been made or suspects identified.