HEALTHY cats could be destroyed on the Fylde Coast because of the closure of a cat welfare charity.

The Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde branch of Cats Protection has to close because not enough fund-raisers, cat fosterers and committee members could be found.

The knock-on effect on other animal welfare organisations could be so great that cats may have to be put down if homes cannot be found for them, The Citizen has learned.

Josephine Harwood, Cats Protection local spokeswoman, told of her 'sad regret' at announcing the branch's closure.

"This is entirely due to lack of fosterers, fund-raisers and committee members making it impossible for us to carry on," she said.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the membership for their continued support over the years and past fosterers, fund-raisers and committee members for the hard work and time they put into running the branch."

Cats Protection head office confirmed the immediate closure of the branch, but said it hoped to open another branch soon, possibly in Lancaster, to restart a re-homing service including The Fylde.

A spokeswoman for the charity added that a telephone helpline, 08702 099099, would still be available for help and advice, or for the public to request cat neutering vouchers.

But the news of the closure has come as a blow to other animal welfare charities in the area.

The RSPCA's Longview Centre, Division Lane, Blackpool, is already caring for 33 homeless cats and is expecting more now that kitten season has started.

Another Fylde Coast sanctuary, Easterleigh, off Queensway, St Annes, recently announced it has more than 50 cats seeking homes.

Andy MacMillan, manager of Longview, admitted that animal welfare services in the area could be forced to put cats down 'as an absolute last resort' if they were swamped with unwanted, stray or abandoned cats.

He added: "It's kitten season so it's going to get worse before it gets better.

"The closure will have a knock-on effect. Obviously the overspill we'll have to pick up, which is going to take some doing. But we will deal with it - we always do."

He said that Longview aims to care for all cats, particularly injured or poorly cats, left there, but that the public can help at the moment by feeding and watching over healthy strays or homeless cats themselves (with the RSPCA's support and advice), rather than just leaving them at the centre.