A POLICE hunt has been launched to find the thieves who snatched a vulnerable lamb from a Hampshire field.

The farmer who owns two-week-old Patch fears that it could die unless it is properly looked after.

Today George Heathcote has issued a plea for the sheep rustlers to bring back Patch - which had been earmarked for breeding due to its distinctive markings.

Witnesses saw three people chasing the young animal in the field at Warborne Organic Farm in Lymington shortly before it went missing.

The next day, Mr Heathcote heard the mother calling for its lamb and searched the area before calling the police.

He said: "It is an extraordinary lamb. We called it The Dalmatian Puppy' because it was very humanised and seemed to like being cuddled.

"Even the most hard-hearted farmers would give it a hug."

Police have launched an appeal for information in a bid to track the three suspects.

They say that the quarter-Persian lamb, which has black, brown and white markings, was taken between Monday, April 7, and Tuesday, April 8.

Mr Heathcote believes that the animal was too big to have been taken by a fox and too reliant on its mother to have wandered off.

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Ian Hunt at Lymington police station on 0845 045 4545, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555