Bedford hoax posts on Facebook claim to show dog injured in hit-and-run

It looks like a Facebook post doing the rounds which claims to be searching for the owner of a dog injured in a Bedford hit-and-run are fake.

According to Full Fact, the image is from a 2022 article about a dog attack in Northern Ireland.

In a statement on its website, it said these fake posts are often edited later to offer cheap housing, links to surveys or other freebies.

“Hoaxes can damage people’s trust in local community news, because groups can become overwhelmed with false information. As a result, genuine posts may be ignored or dismissed as false.”

A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police said: “We would encourage people to report any scams to us either online or call 101.”