A family have been left "devastated" after two lambs were stolen from a field in Bridport.

Amy Wright keeps sheep on a small farm on the outskirts of the town.

She keeps a small herd of sheep as a hobby to teach her two daughters about the animals and to share her love of owning sheep.

On Tuesday, March 26, two of her lambs were stolen after a fence was broken through sometime between 4.30am and 7am.

Three-week-old Elton and two-week-old Ellie are blue texels, both are one-half of two pairs of twins from two ewes.

Ellie belongs to Amy's two-year-old daughter.

Amy said the shock of the theft of her lambs left her 12-year-old daughter "crying herself to sleep".

She said: "I only keep a few sheep, I am on my own with my two girls aged 12 and two, my older daughter cried herself to sleep with worry.

"I rent a small yard near my house and it is very secure, somebody must have driven past and seen the sheep in the field when the main gate was open and spotted them, it looks like it was planned.

"The lambs and their mums had only been out in the field for a week as the weather has been awful.

"Elton's twin brother is still this morning calling for him in the field.

"Ellie is two weeks old and she belongs to my two-year-old daughter, she is the smallest of my lambs and her twin brother hasn't left their mother's side.

"She follows my daughter around the field and has been fed by hand ever since she was a tiny baby.

"I am absolutely devastated, I have had a hard time lambing this year and the loss of any lambs or sheep takes a huge toll.

"For two babies to be stolen, nobody can understand how I feel at the moment,

"The mothers have been calling for their stolen lambs and it has been heart-breaking."

Amy said it appears thieves broke through the wire fence next to a solid metal entrance gate, broke the feed store door open and threw horse feed onto the floor.

This caused the lamb's mother to come over and feed and in order to coax the lambs over, so they could be grabbed.

The thieves also left the gate wide open, leaving the rest of the sheep loose on the yard.

The theft has been reported to Dorset Police and anyone with information should contact the force.

It follows a number of animal thefts in the area in recent months after two pygmy goats were stolen from a farm in Marshwood in January and 70 turkeys were stolen from Symondsbury Estate in November.