A CANDIDATE in the forthcoming election for the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner post has called for a law to make it easier to prosecute pet thieves.

Mark Young, who is an Independent member of Denbighshire County Council, explained there has been a huge rise in dog napping recently. He said: “Through lockdown the amount of dogs being stolen has increased by 170 per cent, making it the worst year ever. There have even been reports of people out walking with their dogs off the leads and they have been stolen.”

Mark added: “We need to impose tougher sentences on people who dog nap.

The impact of losing your family pet and , best friend is heartbreaking and the thought of them being taken from your own back garden is awful . People are scared to leave their dogs in their own gardens now while being in their homes for fear of them being stolen . This should not be a situation we find ourselves in and is unacceptable.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones revealed earlier this year that he is standing down at the next election. The next election had originally been due to take place last May but the vote was put back a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.