Four people released without charge as 'stolen' Blackpool puppies were part of ownership dispute
Eight puppies and an adult dog from Blackpool retrieved from a vehicle on the M61 last night were no longer being treated as stolen but as part of a dispute in ownership, Lancashire Police said.
Eight three-week-old French Bulldog puppies and an adult dog were recovered from a vehicle on the M61 on December 30, and four people were arrested at the scene.
Officers stopped the car after reports of a burglary at an address in Kingsway, South Shore, where the dogs were taken from.
This morning, Lancashire Road Police tweeted that the "stolen" pups and dog had been recovered and reunited with their owner.
A police spokesman confirmed shortly after that eight puppies and an adult dog had been stolen from the address, and four people had been arrested.
But the force has since released them without charge, after it transpired the dogs had in fact been taken as a result of an "ownership dispute."
A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: "The incident appears to be a dispute between parties over ownership.
"The four people arrested have been released without charge."