A 12 week old puppy which was stolen in Preston has been reunited with its owner.

Rio, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was stolen from outside Spar on Water Lane in Ashton on Tuesday 6 December. He had been tied to a lamppost by his owner – a 12 year old girl from Bamber Bridge – while she went inside the shop.

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Police were alerted that Rio had been stolen and, after reviewing CCTV footage from outside the store, located the puppy at a nearby address.

PC Denise Flitney of Preston Police said: “The owner of the puppy was very distressed when she realised that Rio had been taken. They had only had him for a few weeks but he was already part of the family.

“We were delighted to have been able to locate the puppy and return him to his rightful owner. When we dropped Rio off, he seemed very pleased to be back home and to see everyone.

“It was nice to be able to deliver some good news to the family and reunite them with Rio before Christmas.”

A 14 year old boy was referred to the triage process in connection with the incident, which means that officers and trained youth workers will now work with the teenager to help him address his behaviour. A course of action will be agreed with him which may include an apology to the victim, referral to other agencies and potential reparative work.

A man who failed to stop for police and went on to crash his car into a tree has been jailed for 18 months after leaving a teenage passenger with spinal injuries. 

20 year old Alexander Saxon, who has been banned from driving, was seen behind the wheel by officers on November 4 2011 at the Wyre roundabout, heading towards Windy Harbour.

He failed to stop and officers followed his MG ZR towards Bilsborrow. Saxon then lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree on St Michaels Road. He suffered minor injuries in the crash; a 15 year old girl was also injured and a 16 year old girl suffered spinal injuries.

Saxon, of Wolsey Close, Thornton Cleveleys, appeared at Preston Crown Court last year where he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and without insurance.

Appearing before the court again, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was disqualified from driving for five years.