Shocking footage shows the moment a woman’s French bulldog was snatched by dognappers in broad daylight

Caroline Busby, 60, was walking one-year-old Luna near her home when she was stopped by two men who pretended to stroke the pup.

They engaged her in conversation and as they knelt down one of the men unhooked Luna's collar before running away with the pooch under his arm.

Caroline’s family frantically searched for Luna following last Thursday’s (March 3) theft in Malvern, Worcs., and posted footage of the yobs on Facebook.

Luckily, 24 hours later police found Luna wandering on her own eight miles away in Strensham, Worcs.

West Mercia Police confirmed a man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of theft.

Cops are still appealing for help in identifying the second man in the film.

Caroline’s daughter Kirsty Groves, 34, said: "You can see on the CCTV that they are crouched down, waiting for her to come around the corner.

"My mum thought maybe they were doing their shoelaces or something.

"They turned her over to presumably see if she was a male or female, and they asked my mum how old the dog was. She told them she was only one.

"Then they just unclipped her and ran.

"My mum's dog is my mum's best friend, she's not just a dog. It is a family pet. They are part of your family.

"She is nervous wreck. She doesn't want to walk her dog anymore alone; she has to go with friends. She will not go on her own ever again.

"She's a defenceless 60-year-old woman, it's so unfair. I live away and I am worried about my mum and if anything like this will happen again.

"We are really angry someone has made my mum feel this way. What is wrong with people?

"You don't expect anything like this to happen in Malvern.

"We are really lucky that we got her back. I think this is due to the sharing online about what had happened.

"We are really grateful for those who took the time to help find her.

"We can only think that the theft was purely down to money. French bulldogs are expensive.

"We even took extra precautions when I brought her the dog because of this.

"I got my mum a panic alarm to take on her walks with her and she was insured as much as she could be, but this still happened."