BURGLARS cruelly slashed a family dog -- cutting a three inch deep wound into the pet's chest before stealing more than £2,000 of property from the house.

The Wynn family, of The Willows, Mawdesley, have had their much loved collie-Alsatian cross, Skippy, for eight years.

The dog was attacked while the family slept and has since needed surgery and five stitches.

The family knew nothing about the incident until the morning. Skippy wandered the street for most of the night with the knife wound which had narrowly missed a main artery and gone into the gullet.

Mrs Margaret Wynn said: "Skippy would never go for anyone. She properly jumped up to lick them and that's when they stabbed her.

"I discovered her when I got up in the morning and Skippy was across the road with her tail between her legs."

The thieves stole a camcorder, and engagement, wedding and eternity ring, a Playstation, a computer, a Sanyo colour television, ladies' gold wrist watch, CDs and a wallet.

Mrs Wynn, who was asleep with her husband Darren and two children, Elicia, six, and Samuel, two, said: "It's the fact that they carried a knife and were prepared to use it."

DS Mick Dagger, of Chorley CID, said: "This is a particularly nasty burglary. I have no doubt that if a person had confronted, they would have been attacked.

"We would encourage people in rural areas to contact the police if they see anything suspicious in the early hours."