A family has been left devastated after their beloved dog went missing while out on a walk.

Lorraine Wells was walking Luca – an eight-year-old Doberman – on their usual route through the fields next to Lenham Heath Road, Maidstone, when he ran off.

The 66-year-old said: "He is a bit of a monkey, when he goes off he comes back in his own time.

"We kept walking and was calling him but did not come back to us. He had just vanished. He never came back and we could not find him at all."

She last saw Luca by the solar panels on Monday morning at around 9am and thinks he must have run off into the nearby woodland.

"If he had gone up to the road he would have been seen," the grandmother added. "We have been back so many times to look for him.

"It is just absolutely awful. I just want to know what has happened to him. If he had had a heart attack or an accident we would have seen him.

"The only thing I can think of is he had gone back to the gate where we park our car and someone has stolen him."

The Wells family have had Luca since he was a puppy and have been back to the fields everyday to look for him.

They have put up flyers, posted on social media and alerted local vets, kennels, the police and the dog warden in the hopes someone will have handed him in.

Lorraine, who lives in Lenham Heath, said: "He is as gentle as anything. He is a very good looking dog. We just want him home.

"We have not been great since he went missing. You just feel sick with worry. We are absolutely devastated."

Luca is a large, black dog with tan markings, has a bad paw and has been micro-chipped and neutered.

If you have any information on his whereabouts you can contact Lorriane on 07799560750.