Incidents of livestock related crime has hit Devon and Cornwall over the past few weeks, say police.

Some incidents saw 20-50 sheep being stolen in one night.

It is known that suspects know how to handle sheep and are likely to be operating in hours of darkness using trailers to move livestock.

It is possible they utilise a dog, but this is not confirmed at this time.

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “We would encourage anyone who sees any suspicious livestock movement at night (or day) to call police on 999 and provide information such as location, vehicle involved, type of trailer and a registration plate if possible.”

“We would rather attend an innocent livestock movement than find a large number of stock missing.”