FEAR about dog thefts do not match up to actual crime statistics, according to police.

In recent times, officers in Burnley say that they have seen a number of residents raise concerns across social media about dogs being stolen.

However, following on from a recent look at statistics relating to bicycle thefts, police decided to examine the record of dogs being stolen and found that fears expressed on social media are not reflected in actual Lancashire-wide statistics.

A police spokesperson said: "Statistics give us a rough picture of how things are around us and I thought it would be helpful to share some of them, yes I know statistics don't tell us everything.

"We've all seen a lot of posts about dogs being stolen and it got us thinking that none of us had noticed an actual increase in dog thefts on police logs for the wards we work on.

"Tomorrow afternoon I'll send some stats related to dog thefts out on our messaging service Lancashire Talking.

"From a quick glance its very low numbers Lancashire wide."

Residents can receive the statistics by signing up to Lancashire Talking at: https://www.stayintheknow.co.uk/.