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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Scott Hesketh & Patrick Edrich

Man told 'give us £500 or I'll shoot your dog' in horrifying phone call

A petrified owner was told by "scum" blackmailers to "give us 500 quid or I'll shoot your dog".

Dog owner Nathan Swalwell got a call from a private number after his nine-year-old Shih Tzu went missing days before Christmas. The Wigan-man answered the call and was told: "I've got Lexi. Give us 500 quid or I'll shoot it."

In a panic Nathan asked the blackmailer to send a picture but was told he would have to send £50 for it. Nathan added: "I got the bank details and paid. He wasn't telling the truth and I didn't see the money again.

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