A heartbroken Bristol pet owner has pleaded for thieves to return her two stolen ferrets, or at least let her know they’re safe, as police launch a fresh appeal over the whereabouts of the animals.

Arielle Stone was distraught to discover that three of her beloved pet ferrets had been snatched from their enclosure in the garden of her Stoke Gifford home last year.

The incident, which appeared on a recent episode of Crimewatch, happened between 9am and 10pm on January 5 2021.

Police have a new lead on missing ferret Blossom after owner Arielle spotted a picture of what she thinks was her pet online. The ferret was listed as for sale in Birmingham.

It saw what is thought to be a group of men in dark clothing climb over a side wall and break into a cage where the ferrets were sleeping.

Thankfully, one of the animals has since been brought home after he was found ‘wandering the streets of Bath’ on a ‘grand old day out’.

But the animal had suffered injuries to his teeth, leading to concerns from Arielle that the other two ferrets who remain missing could have also been mistreated.

The 26-year-old, who works in animation, told BristolWorld: “I still feel so terrible about it, even over a year later.

A male ferret, pictured here is also still missing.

“I just can’t get my head around why they would target the ferrets because they aren’t particularly valuable. You can pick them up from people who don’t look after them properly for as little as £10.

“The lock on our back door had been tampered with too, which makes me wonder if they had originally been after our dogs and taken the ferrets as a kind of consolation prize.”

A renewed appeal by Avon and Somerset Police was sounded after Arielle spotted a picture of what appeared to be one of the missing ferrets, a female named Blossom, up for sale in Birmingham.

But when she called the number on the advert, a man who answered refused to tell her where the ferret he had up for sale had come from.

The hope is that someone from the West Midlands ferret community will have come across the missing animals or be able to more shed light on what happened to them.

Arielle added: “My message would be to pet owners to stay vigilant.

“I rescue quite a lot of ferrets and had raised money for a special shed, and invested in new locks, but they still got in.

“One of our ferrets is pining for the missing male ferret, who he’s been with since he was a baby - they were best buds. It would be amazing if we could reunite them.

“More than anything else, all I want to know is that they’re safe.”

Do you have any information that could help reunite the missing pair with their family?

If you have information that could help, call Avon and Somerset Police on the non-emergency number 101.

You can also call Crimestoppers, free and anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Bristol pet owner pleads for information on stolen ferrets as police issue fresh appeal