WEST Mercia Police have launched and investigation after a teenager was left terrified by an apparent dog theft attempt in St Martin’s on Monday evening.
At about 8pm on Monday, March 22, the 17-year-old was walking her dog along Church Lane, near to the junction of Green Lane, in St Martins, when she reportedly thought someone was walking too close behind her.
She instinctively leant forward and grabbed her dog as she believed that someone was going to steal it and then ran the rest of the way home.
When the victim returned home she has discovered her clothing has been torn and she had sustained minor injuries.
Detective Inspector Dafydd Jones urged anyone with information to come forward.
“The victim has not seen anyone and can’t describe an offender and nothing was said,” he said. 
“I would like to confirm that no knife was seen and the victim suffered no knife injuries. 
“However, she has told us that she has seen a high sided red van at the time of the incident.
“Detectives are investigating this report and would appeal for any witnesses to come who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously at the time in Church Lane and the surrounding area and if anyone has information about the red van seen as the owners may be able to help with our investigation.
“This was an understandably scary situation and we are to keen establish exactly what has happened. 
“I want to reassure the community that we take reports of animal theft and violent crime seriously and keeping people safe and protecting them harm is at the core of what we do.”
The response from West Mercia Police came after a widely-shared social media post showed injuries belonging to the teenager. 
In the post, it had been stated that the girl was ‘attacked at knifepoint’ and been left shaken and hurt from the incident. 
The post was also highlighting that she had been starting to feel okay after the incident and warned others of potential dangers. 
With the post being widely-shared, many people have also offered their support to the girl.
The person who shared the post also thanked everyone for their support.
You can report any information to West Mercia Police online, or by calling 101 and quoting log number 00636i of March 22 2021. 
Alternatively, if you have information but don’t feel comfortable speaking to police, you can speak to Crimestoppers. 
It is 100 per cent anonymous, they never ask your name and they cannot trace your call or I.P address. 
You can contact them online or by calling 0800 555 111.