Now cash-strapped families abandon their pets - because they can't afford to care for them

Animal rescue centres have found themselves inundated with dogs, cats and rabbits from those who can no longer afford to care for them.

The RSPCA's largest rescue centre, the Stubbington Ark in Fareham, Hampshire, is nearing capacity at 570 animals.

Scroll down for more...

Vanessa Eden, a worker at the centre, said: "We have had people bringing in their pets because they can no longer afford to pay their energy bills, let alone vet bills or pet food."

Older animals and those with long-term medical problems are the most likely to be dumped because they need expensive treatments.

Freshfields Animal Rescue in Liverpool has seen a steady rise in dumped pets in the past six months.

Trustee Marge Albert said: "There has been an increase in the number of people handing in their pets because they can no longer afford them.

"When times get hard people look at their finances to see where they can make cutbacks and the family pet is often an easy target.

"The problem is likely to get worse over the summer as people jet off on holiday and realise it is going to cost them a couple of hundred pounds to put their pets in kennels."