Thieves kill family's pet goat when they find nothing to steal

A family are heartbroken after thieves stole and slaughtered their beloved pet goat after finding nothing else to take.

Beckie Bisset, 40, of Alfreton, Derbyshire, said she felt "sick to the stomach" after the animal was found by a canal four days after it went missing from their animal sanctuary.

CCTV stills show thugs snatch the three-year-old family pet, called George, from its pen in a field near Burton on Saturday 6 October.

Mum Beckie said the tack room in the sanctuary's hay barn had already been broken into four times this year but thieves had previously taken strimmers, energisers and tools.

This time, the intruders broke through a reinforced door but found nothing valuable to steal so decided to take the goat instead.

They then killed George and dumped his body by a canal a few miles away in Fradley.

Beckie said that, since George disappeared, her nine-year-old daughter, Kiera, has cried herself to sleep every night wondering why anyone would want to take him away from her.

She said: "He was so lovable. He would follow you around the fields wanting to know what you were doing.

"The thieves knew what they were looking for. They had gone for more expensive stuff.

"But there was nothing left for them to steal. You kill sheep and cows for meat, but he was a pet. Everyone is devastated."

Anyone who thinks they have any information is being urged to contact Staffordshire Police on the non-emergency number 101.