Sheffield mum's emotional appeal over stolen pony

A woman has issued an emotional appeal to the thieves who stole her pony in an early-hours raid.

Stacey Gill, 35, said her Chestnut Appaloosa stallion called Mr Sheffield was taken from the stables in Grenoside, Sheffield, on 11 August.

Despite offering a £20,000 reward, no information about the two-year-old pony's whereabouts has come to light.

Appealing directly to the thieves, Ms Gill said: "All I care about is him coming home, just bring him back."

The mum-of-nine told the BBC she thought her horse had been targeted for breeding purposes and said it was worth more than £100,000.

"In the way they've taken him, they knew what they were doing," she said.

"There was a mare two stables down from him and mares in the field, but nothing else was touched."

Ms Gill said the theft had had a "massive" impact on her partner and children who shared a close bond with Mr Sheffield.

She said: "He is like a child to me, he is a cheeky little monkey. He's a baby stallion, so he might have a little nip sometimes and he likes to play with his toys - it was just the little things he did.

"He was a family pony, he was just part of us. I just want them to bring him back. Once he's back, that's the end of it."

Ms Gill said the situation had been made worse by prank callers leaving upsetting messages.

"We've had a lot of people sending us on wild goose chases, saying they've seen him running down the motorway in Scotland," Ms Gill said.

"And I got one the other day saying, 'your horse is dead' - which we don't believe he is."

Ms Gill said she believed the thieves used a van-like vehicle which CCTV cameras picked up around Grenoside between 01:00 BST and 03:00 BST on 11 August.

South Yorkshire Police said officers closed the investigation after all available lines of inquiry had been "exhausted" and no suspects had been identified.

The force said it would reopen it should any new information emerge.

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