Two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels stolen from their home in Bletchingly were recovered by police officers from Tandridge after an extended search over the last two days.

Early on Thursday morning (July 16), officers from the Tandridge branch of Surrey Police confirmed that the pair of 11-year-old dogs had been reunited with their owners after a dramatic 48 hours that involved a kidnapping and confrontation with the suspect thief.

On Tuesday (July 14), police published an information appeal describing how the dogs had been stolen by an unnamed individual who drove off with them at speed after taking them from a home in Bletchingly.

Police described how just after 5pm on Tuesday evening, "a Silver Subaru Legacy was seen at the location and drove off at speed when the owners confronted them...."

A hunt to return the ageing dogs with their owners commenced.

After appealing to the public for help in their search, police confirmed they had attended "multiple locations" on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning before finally finding the kidnapped Spaniels, much to their humans' relief.

"At the start of their night shift (officers) along with assistance from (others) attended multiple locations and are incredibly pleased to have eventually located both dogs," Tandridge police said in a statement posted to Facebook.

"At 0130 hours we reunited them with their rightful owners!

"We are so pleased that all the hard work paid off and both dogs are back where they should be," they said.

Images of the police involved in the operation holding and petting the dogs were posted alongside the statement and garnered thousands of 'likes' on social media from approving followers.

"Thank you to everyone who responded to our appeal," Tandridge Police added.