SINGER LILY Allen was reunited with her stolen English Bull Terrier Maggie May – but only after she paid a hefty ransom to dognappers to get her back.

A few days after the theft, Ms Allen was contacted by a man who declined to give his name, but said that he has the dog. ‘We got a call from a man in Leytonstone in East London. He said he had Maggie and had bought her as a present for his sister,’ Ms Allen said. It was after the man offered to sell them more dogs that they realised that the men were ‘in the business of moving dogs’.

The pop star has reported the ordeal to the RSPCA and the police, and investigations into the matter are continuing.