A DISTRAUGHT family whose beloved Jack Russell puppy disappeared from their home Coxheath has launched a campaign following a series of mysterious dog thefts.

The JACK campaign, Justice Against Canine Kidnap, has been set up by Peter Wildish and Glenis Morgan-Lewis, whose nine month-old pup Jack vanished from behind a closed gate at the family home in Stockett Lane, Coxheath, near Maidstone.

The couple has since been contacted several times by a mystery caller asking for as much as £900 in exchange for the beloved pet's safe return.

Mrs Morgan-Lewis' 11-year-old son, Michael, has taken Jack's disappearance and the ransom demands badly, as Jack arrived not long after his first dog, Holly. died. Holly was a gift from his father, who died four years ago.

Now the couple has discovered theirs is not the first dog to disappear in the area, and for Michael's sake they are determined to stop it happening to anybody else.

Mrs Morgan-Lewis said: "My son is totally gutted and I have seen him go through hell. To the poor lad it seems that everything he loves, he loses.

"So many people have contacted us about this. We're not the first people this has happened to."

Mr Wildish said: "We drove round Coxheath on Saturday looking for him and putting up posters, and we heard from four people that they knew of other dogs disappearing in the area."

The family are now working with various experts, including the RSPCA and the dog warden at Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. And on November 8 they are due to meet with MP for Maidstone and the Weald Anne Widdecombe.

Mrs Morgan-Lewis said: "It's a scam. Dogs dogs are stolen for breeding and if the people can't breed from them they try and get money out of the distraught owners.

"We don't think we will get Jack back now. I hate thinking about it but the dog warden says if they can't get money then they use them to bait pitbulls."

Police are currently investigating Jack's disappearance. Police spokeswoman Gianna Pollero said: "We are treating this as a theft and investigating it in the context of someone demanding money for the dog.

"We have heard that dogs have disappeared in the area before. We completely understand that animals are part of people's families and of course we take it very seriously."

Police are now appealing for information on the whereabouts of Jack, and would also like to hear from anyone who knows anything about other dogs disappearing in the area.

Anyone with any information should call 01622 608189.