Upwell: Fourteen dogs and puppies stolen from breeder

Seven adult cocker spaniels were among those stolen

Fourteen dogs and puppies potentially worth thousands of pounds have been stolen from breeding kennels.

The cocker spaniels and cockapoos, some of them less than six weeks old, were taken from Just Dogz in Upwell, Norfolk, between 02:00 and 02:30 BST.

Owner Justine Watts, who lives on site, said: "It's not about the money, it's knowing they're safe. The puppies were not ready to leave their mothers."

Norfolk Police said anyone offered puppies for sale should contact them.

Mrs Watts said her son was woken at 04:00 by the frantic cocker spaniel mother pacing outside their bungalow in New Road.

"He went outside to see where she had come from and realised her puppies had gone," she said.

"She was running around on her own outside, right next to a main road."

It is not recommended for puppies to leave the mother before eight weeks

The seven puppies - four cocker spaniels and three cockapoos - were six weeks and five and a half weeks old respectively.

"They need another week of their mother's milk," Mrs Watts added.

All seven puppies were due to go to new homes, with deposits secured and new owners expected to pay "quite a bit over £1,000" each, she said.

Justine Watts said she believed the kennel was targeted by someone who had staked out the surrounding area

None of the adult dogs, a male cocker spaniel, two six-month-old female cocker spaniels and four adult female cocker spaniels, were related to each other or the puppies.

Mrs Watts said she thought the kennels had been targeted by "somebody who knew the set up", because the break-in was not at the entrance to the kennels close to the bungalow.

Police have said inquiries are ongoing.