Shropshire puppies thief is locked up for 12 months

David Burdis had visited the farm in Sleap, near Wem, with another man under the pretence of wanting to buy a lurcher.

But while the pair were at the farm, Burdis grabbed seven dogs worth £8,000 from a shed before leaving.

The other man, who has never been found, took a further seven dogs, the court heard.

A jury at Shrewsbury Crown Court had convicted the 68-year-old, from Rigby Lane, Bromsgrove, of taking the dogs on December 14, 2013.

Mr Rupert Jones, prosecuting, said the pair had gone into the shed while owner Marcia Jones was distracted and grabbed seven dogs each. Mr Jones said the seven puppies taken by Burdis had a value of up to £8,000.

During the trial the jury heard that Burdis was captured on CCTV, along with the other man, scooping up the puppies into his hoodie from two closed plastic boxes.

Two of the puppies, which were micro-chipped, were found in Aylesbury and Nottingham.

Sentencing, Judge Jonathan Gosling said: "The puppies were stolen from the farm building which at the time you had entered without permission."

He said Burdis had known the puppies were of a "very high value" and that "there was a market of very high value for them."

Judge Gosling said that only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate, although he told Burdis it would have been suspended had he pleaded guilty.

This week Shropshire vet David Martin revealed how puppy smuggling is becoming an increasingly popular activity for gangs.

They can make thousands of pounds a week by stealing the animals and selling them on.