A FAMILY have been left heartbroken after their three-month old puppy was stolen from their home.

Devon George, from Basildon, returned on Friday night to find her French Bulldog puppy, Barbie, had been taken from her house in Elsenham Crescent - having only had the pup for just a month.

Overall, Barbie included, Devon fears between £4,000 and £5,000 worth of items were taken, with electronics, jewellery, perfume, clothes, shoes and even paperwork swiped from her property.

But no one has taken the news harder than her three-year-old daughter who has been crying ever since Barbie’s disappearance.

Devon, 25, said: “I was out at the time, and had been out in Chelmsford for dinner. But I came back and she was gone.

“As soon as I unlocked the front door I could see the lounge door was open, we usually keep her downstairs and so I knew something was wrong.

“She just wasn’t there, and so I knew straight away what had happened.

“They made it look like a rear window had been broken in, but there were no signs of forced entry. It’s almost as if they just walked in the front door and out again.

“It turns out they stole between £4,000 and £5,000 worth of things overall, even documents for Barbie and my passport.

"My electronic hair bits were also gone, including my £450 hairdryer."

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A police probe has now been launched into the burglary, which happened between 7.15pm and 11pm on Friday.

Devon added: “I feel like they’ve taken one of my children. My little girl is only three and has been non stop crying for her, she’s animal-mad.

“We got Barbie around the time of her birthday and she’d become a little best friend to my daughter. We just want her back.”

A spokesman for Essex Police, said: "We are investigating a burglary which took place in Elsenham Crescent, Basildon, during which a French Bulldog was taken.

"A number of other items, including Pandora jewellery and a hairdryer, were also taken.

"No arrests have been made and our enquiries are ongoing.

"Anyone who witnessed the incident, has information on it or has doorbell footage of the area between 7.15pm and 11pm on Friday should submit a report online at https://www.essex.police.uk or use the 'Live Chat' button to speak to an online operator between 7am-11pm.

"You can also call us on 101 and cite incident 1593 of September 17."