A family who had their dog stolen from their family home claim police are not doing enough to reunite their terminally ill son with his pet.

A man stole the dog from the Richardson family, who live in Abbot Road, Didcot - after dad Adrian left him alone in the house for a few minutes while he went to check on his sick two-year-old son Toby.

The family bought Peppy, a black and tan Yorkshire terrier, for Toby who has Vacterl - a condition that causes abnormalities in the body.

Breathing difficulties and allergies are part of the illness - but the Yorkshire terrier is one of the few breeds that do not make the symptoms worse.

Peppy was stolen last Tuesday and the family contacted the police immediately - but have still not heard back from them.

They are offering a £300 reward for Peppy's safe return - call 01235 510985.

Mr Richardson, 33, said: "I called the police that evening and they said an officer would be with us in the next two days - but that was a week ago."

The man who stole the dog called himself John, and is described as 5ft 10in tall with a strong Irish accent and a sovereign ring on his little finger.

He called at the house to look at another dog the Richardsons had advertised for sale.

Mr Richardson said: "He came in and seemed polite but the money did not look right - it looked fake."

Mr Richardson had to leave the man alone in the house for a few minutes to attend to Toby.

He added: "I came back in and he had done a runner with Peppy."

The family are still waiting for the police to pick up an envelope that has the man's fingerprints on. A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: "We take complaints about our service seriously. Anyone who is unhappy with our service should contact our quality of service unit at headquarters and we will do our utmost to resolve their concerns."

The man described is thought to be a notorious dog snatcher in the South. Jayne Hayes founder of Doglost.co.uk said: "It sounds like a man who has been operating in the area for the past few years. He sees the reward, phones up the dog owners and demands more."