Ananova:

Burglars tried to snort the contents of a bag marked "Charlie" when they broke into a house, but the light-coloured powder was the ashes of the homeowner's dog.

The bag, alongside an urn, contained the ashes of Dee Blyth's dead Newfoundland dog, Charlie, who died in 1997.

A police officer investigating the break-in at Chadwell Heath, Essex laughed when he saw the thieves had arranged the ashes into cocaine-style lines, Ms Blyth told The Sun newspaper.

She said: "I'd love to see their faces when these thieves realise. It was horrible knowing they were in my house, but the idea of them trying to get high on a dead dog made me feel better.

"I didn't realise the significance until the policeman started laughing - he couldn't wait to tell his mates back at the station."

The thieves stole two televisions, a video recorder, a hi-fi and £2000 worth of jewellery.

Police are trying to track down the thieves using DNA samples from the bag of ashes.