THREE families in West Wylam say they have lost their beloved pets this Christmas, and fear they could have been stolen.

Sheila Robson raised concerns about cats going missing in the area after her nine-year-old cat, Dexter, went missing on Thursday, December 27.

Two other families, who live minutes away from 78-year-old Sheila, who lives on The Close, have also had their cats disappear in recent weeks. This has prompted the residents to report the matter to Northumbria Police.

Sheila, who has had Dexter for over five years after she rescued him when he was three, said: “We let him out after supper and there is no way he would go away on his own.

“While we have been searching, going round neighbours, we have discovered another two have gone missing in the very near vicinity, one on Christmas Day and one just before that.

“We thought maybe he had got locked in somewhere but we’ve asked everybody round about to check their garages and there’s no sight of any of the cats. It’s strange for them to just disappear so close to each other and in the same area.”

The cats have all reportedly gone missing from the streets surrounding The Manor’s Extra Care in West Wylam.

Sheila added: “We have accepted that we are probably not going to see him again, but I just want to see this stop and prevent this happening to another family. At the end of the day, one of the families whose cat has gone missing has four children and the other has two. That’s six little children missing their cats this Christmas.”

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said the force was aware of the reports but added: “The area has been searched and there is nothing to suggest a crime or anything untoward.”