£10k reward offered to find those who set dog on fire
‘OPERATION FRANKISH’ OFFERS SUPPORT
A £10,000 reward has been to offered after a “lovely-natured” dog was kidnapped from a garden and set on fire in a horrific act of cruelty.
Eight-year-old cocker spaniel Lucky was taken from Angela Clennell’s garden, driven 15 minutes away before she was dowsed in accelerant and set alight.
The 56-year-old said Lucky was found seriously injured by a dog walker and taken to the vets by firefighters.
Angela has spoken of her heartbreak of seeing Lucky for the first time, covered in severe burns, and the devastation of having to put her to sleep – as the loving spaniel wouldn’t survive the operations needed to save her.
Now a group, Operation Frankish – named after the two Redcar brothers who sparked a campaign for increased sentences for animal cruelty cases – have offered their support in appealing for information.
The Scotland-based group, which has a team of volunteers around the UK, has issued a poster campaign in the surrounding areas as Angela says a £10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to a successful prosecution.
Operation Frankish was launched after the group say they were driven to act after watching shocking footage released by the RSPCA of Andrew and Daniel Frankish, of Redcar, abusing a bulldog named Baby – a crime for which they were spared jail.
Baby the bulldog was stamped on, headbutted and thrown down stairs by the brothers in 2016.
The pair dodged jail – infuriating people who thought the sentencing options were too lenient – and inspired a campaign which has seen the sentences extended to five years.
During the campaign, the group flew a plane with a banner over Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium demanding jail for the dog abuse duo. Now they’ve joined the fight to get justice for Lucky.
Angela, who lives in Ouston, County Durham, said: “Lucky was stolen from the garden, it was around 10pm on July 27. They had come and climbed over the garden fence and took two of the dogs.
“Sandy was able to escape but they took Lucky. They dowsed her in petrol and set her alight.
“It was a girl walking her dog who came across Lucky smouldering in the field. She couldn’t get a hold of her but the fire brigade managed to get her.
“She was at a vets in Gilesgate for a couple of days and then we took her to Wear Referrals and they said due to the extent of her burns, which were too severe, it was best to put her to sleep.
“It was agony for her and she probably wouldn’t survive the surgery which needed to be done.”
She added: “It was absolutely horrendous seeing her. Seeing the state of what had been done to her, it’s just horrific really.
“She was a really lovely-natured dog. She was always happy and wagging her tail.
“Since it’s happened I just can’t concentrate on anything else, I feel as though it has taken my life over because I’m determined they are going to be held accountable.
“It’s all I think about. I’m getting a load of support from people and there’s been a lot of donations on what was originally for the vet fees but now it’s trying to get these prosecuted. It’s about making sure that the people responsible are prosecuted for what has happened.”
A poster campaign and online effort to raise awareness of the heartbreaking and horrifying incident has been launched by Operation Frankish.
A spokesperson for the group, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “We organised people to go out to County Durham to put up posters in the relevant areas. Within 24 hours we’ve had an excess of 20,000 views and hundreds of shares.
“We’ve got a six-year history of doing this – we’re called Operation Frankish because of an operation we did in Redcar in 2016.
“We carried out a lot of campaigns on the back of that – we’ve flown aeroplanes over football stadiums and put up an advertisement truck in the middle of Middlesbrough.
“You get volunteers that are willing to help you on the ground and those who have a helpful skillset – such as IT.
“When they see you doing things over such a long period they are willing to help free of charge.
“Whoever did this are still out there. There’s a line that you don’t cross and this is one of them.”
Five men interviewed Durham Constabulary has confirmed that five men have been interviewed after Lucky was seriously injured.
The men – one who was arrested and four attended voluntarily on suspicion of conspiracy to commit theft and arson – have been released under investigation.
Anyone with any information is asked to call Durham Constabulary on 101, quoting ref 467 of July 27.