DOG owners gathered in Bury to take part in a national synchronised walk to raise awareness of dog-napping.

A group of animal lovers and their pets were joined by the Mayor of Bury, councillor Michelle Wiseman, at Manchester Road Park on March 28.

The afternoon saw dog walkers from 48 counties in the UK walk in solidarity to raise awareness of dogs being stolen for fighting, baiting and breeding.

Jill Benet, who has a 10-year-old border collie Aflie, said she was concerned about dog thefts in Bury.

The full-time, mother-of-five, who organised the Great Britain dog walk in Bury, said: “A man in a van pulled up at my house once and knocked on claiming to be a scrap metal man but he couldn’t keep his eyes of Alfie in the background.

“I didn’t trust him and it just makes me more cautious.

“The walk went really well but the turnout wasn’t as good as we expected because although 30 people signed up, many of them didn’t show because of the bad weather.”