Rio was reunited with his owners after being stolen from outside a shop in Ashton

His name is Rio and for his owners they thought his first Christmas was ruined.

The puppy’s owner, a 12-year-old girl from Bamber Bridge, had her puppy pinched just weeks before the festive break.

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Rio, a twelve-week old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was stolen from outside a shop in Ashton earlier this month.

The dog had been tied to a lamppost at the Spar on Water Lane while his owner went inside the shop, when she returned there was no sign of Rio.

Using CCTV footage from the store, police were able to track down the thief and 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 has been referred to the triage process after the incident.

This will see officers and youth workers work with the boy to address his behaviour, and issue an apology to the victim.