A DEVASTATED family from Marlow have made an emotional plea to find the driver of a car who hit their beloved puppy and drove away, leaving it with a badly broken leg.

Amy Vass, 30, was walking eight-month old Jack Russell Darcey on Wiltshire Road near her home with her sister in law Carly Hall and daughter Melissa last Tuesday, April 22 around 9.30am.

Darcy slipped her lead, darted off the pavement and was struck by a passing car.

After stopping initially, Amy said the woman behind the wheel drove away despite the shocked trio asking the driver to wait while they went inside to find a blanket for the injured dog.

Amy’s partner Justin Hall, 29, said the family is determined to find the driver, a woman estimated to be in her forties, after Darcey had to undergo expensive operations to fix her broken leg.

And while he concedes the dog was loose when the accident happened, he claims it does not excuse the driver’s actions, which he says have been extremely stressful his heavily pregnant girlfriend.

He said: "The vehicle hit the dog and my sister and girlfriend picked her up. The lady in the car asked if the dog was OK, and my girlfriend said she thought her leg was broken.

"They went inside to get a blanket for her and when they came back outside the driver was gone. The dog was badly hurt and her back leg was flopping around everywhere.

"It’s the fact that the woman has driven off that most annoys us. It’s difficult and stressful for my girlfriend, she’s pregnant and due on May 5.

"We’re appealing for the driver to come forward - I have had to take time off work because of this, and the vets bills are getting on for £2000. More to the point it is about honesty."

We aware of the situation and that the dog ran in the road but it is a criminal offence to drive off, it is like hitting a child and not stopping. I’m not going to let this lie; we will keep going until we find her because it’s just not right."

Amy has described the driver as a woman in her forties, with short brown hair possibly greying at the roots and with dark rimmed glasses.

They believe the car could be a new shape Volkswagen Passatt or Vauxhall Astra with bright ‘ice white’ headlights.

Police have confirmed they were called on Tuesday, April 22 to Wiltshire Road after reports that a car had collided with a dog and driven away after initially stopping.

If you have any information on the incident, contact the police on the non emergency number 101.