Wiltshire Police is investigating a ‘suspicious incident’ involving a number of garden gates being opened in the Chippenham area.
A member of the public called the force to report what they believed was an attempted dog theft in Westcroft at around 12.20pm today (14 September).
When officers probed the incident, they found that someone had allowed a resident’s dog out of their garden but the dog was not stolen and located soon after.
In a statement, a Wiltshire Police spokesperson said: “At 12.20pm today (14/09) we received a report that a back garden gate in Westcroft, Chippenham, had been opened by an unknown person, which had allowed the owner’s dog to leave the garden.
“Thankfully, the dog was not stolen and was located nearby.
“We also understand that other garden gates in the area may also have been opened, but we have not yet received any direct reports.
“At this stage we believe this to be a suspicious incident, rather than an attempted theft, but officers have attended to speak to people in the area and we will keep an open mind about possible motives.
“We would like to use this opportunity to encourage people to report any suspicious incidents regarding potential dog thefts to us, so we can build up an intelligence picture about activity in different parts of the county.
“You can do this by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency.”
