RESCUE crews returning from earthquake-ravaged Algeria today appealed for help after their life-saving search dogs were put in quarantine for six months.

The move came as the volunteers said it would be "beyond a miracle" to find anyone alive in the wake of the devastation.

Ninety firefighters, including five from East Lancashire, returned home yesterday after five gruelling days searching for survivors.

And the UK Fire Service Search and Rescue Team now faces an anxious wait for seven rescue dogs to be released from six month quarantine following the mercy mission.

A powerful earthquake ripped through towns east of Algiers on Wednesday night. The death toll stands at 2,217, with another 8,980 injured.

Hope has faded of finding people alive and diggers and bulldozers have been enlisted to demolish buildings damaged beyond repair.

Seven specially trained dogs were also sent to the trouble zone to help with the rescue mission. But they have been quarantined at Manchester for six months after the trip.

It means that the specialist team are "greatly depleted" if they need to face any other threats in the coming months.

Dog handler Nigel Boden, 39, who lives in Burnley said it was an emotional wrench to leave the dogs behind. "It is like losing half of a two person team," said Nigel.

He added: "The dogs were not responsible for finding any survivors directly but they were able to search areas and confirm that there were no people trapped which allowed for a much quicker elimination of areas.

"People give off a scent all the time but when we are distressed we give off an even stronger smell which dogs can smell up to ten metres away.

"They coped very well with the conditions and temperatures of up to forty degrees."

The team is now hoping to organise an appeal with the Home Office to have the dogs released early.

Andrew Barnes, 45, Station Officer at Blackburn has worked on rescue missions in Turkey, Armenia and India.

He said: "Our aim was to search for people who might have been trapped under the rubble. For a country like Algeria it is a very difficult time as there are existing problems.

"Tens of thousands of people have been murdered as a result of terrorists over the last ten years and it is a deeply Islamic state.

"As Westerners arriving we were part of that target and security was an issue from the moment we landed.

"But to cope with the earthquake on top - things moved very slowly indeed. To find any survivors now would be beyond a miracle. Existing teams will keep on with it.

"What they need now is help rebuilding and finding shelter for everyone who has lost their homes.

"They do not see a lot of Westerners but our presence there has shown them we can be on hand to help."

As demolition teams began tearing down unsafe buildings thousands of homeless people spent another night sleeping on the streets.