SHEEP worth about £2,500 were stolen from a field in Malvern.

The 25 pregnant ewes - black-faced Suffolks, Welsh Mules and Charollais - disappeared from the field off Cowleigh Road between 9am on Tuesday, March 14, and 12.30pm on Thursday, March 16.

Owner John Morris, of Fruitlands, Malvern Wells, said they were all due to give birth during the next seven days.

It is not clear whether the sheep were taken for slaughter or for their lambs.

"If they are for slaughter then butchers and the public should be on the alert for offers of meat from unusual sources," said a police spokesman. "If they have been taken for the lambs that are about to be born, the sudden arrival of animals on a farm or rented land may well attract the attention of local people."

Anyone with information should call police on 08457 444 888, quoting 250S/160306.