Thieves have stolen dozens of prized pigeons, leaving a Black Country pensioner devastated. Lawrence Mullett woke up to find 42 of his ‘roller’ pigeons had been swiped from pens in the garden at his home in Kingswinford.

Among the birds taken were all the 65-year-old’s breeding pairs, leaving him with just 21 of his beloved pets. Mr Mullett said he was lost without his birds and issued a plea to the crooks responsible for their safe return. “If I didn’t have my pigeons I don’t know what I’d do,” he said.

“I just went down the garden as I do every morning and saw the breeding pairs had gone. I was in shock, so much so that I didn’t even notice all the birds in the other pen had been taken to.

“I just stood there for a while and couldn’t quite believe what had happened.”

A traditional Black Coun-try pastime for more than 150 years, roller pigeons per-form a series of rolls, spins and dives for which they are awarded marks by judges in regular competitions.

Mr Mullett, a retired engineer, said: “Lots of them had eggs and they have all gone too.

“This type of thing is happening more and more now-adays and we need to put a stop to it. These pigeons are my life and I don’t understand how anyone could do something like this.

“I’ve lived in the Black Country all my life and in the past you wouldn’t have dreamed that anyone would steal another person’s birds.”

Mr Mullett is a member of two roller pigeon clubs and said he had spoken to a number of fellow members who had vowed to help him trace the birds.

“The police have been nothing but helpful, so hopefully the people who did it, or someone that knows them, will find it in their conscience to come forward.”

He said he had been breeding pigeons for almost 60 years and did not sell them for profit but gave them away to fellow enthusiasts.

Anyone with information about the stolen birds, which were taken at some point over Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, is asked to call police on 0845 1135000.