AN AUTISTIC Grimsby man has issued a desperate plea for his pet ferret to be returned.
Mark Goodacre, 27, was distraught when four-year-old Tin Tin went missing on New Year's Eve.
Mark went out to give his much-loved pet some water at about 4.30pm, only to find that his hutch was empty.
It appeared that vandals had climbed the wall into the backyard and broken into the hutch, which Mark and his support worker Ian Scott had spent months building.
Mark said: "I was just in complete shock. I was gutted.
"I just can't believe that someone would do this.
"At first I thought a fox had done it, but another support worker who was walking past said the door to the hutch had been forced open."
Mark bought the abandoned ferret four years ago from the Blue Cross animal hospital in Grimsby and enjoyed taking him out for walks.
He added: "My brother kept ferrets when I was younger so I was brought up with them. I am missing Tin Tin a lot.
"I just want him back."
Ian said that police officers attended the property an hour after the incident was reported.
He added that the pet was microchipped.
Ian said: "How low will people stoop? This is somebody's pet.
"Mark used to get a lot of pleasure out of taking him for a walk.
"We did everything we could to keep him safe. The gate to the yard is always locked and the cage had a padlock on it.
"He is no good to anybody for breeding because he has been neutered.
"No stealing is good but stealing a live animal is just low."
Anyone with information can call Humberside Police on 101.
Crime news for Grimsby and North East Lincolnshire
