A FORTNIGHT after Christmas and unwanted presents are already being dumped at Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary.

The Edenfield home for abandoned animals and unwanted pets has already taken in a number of puppies which were abandoned in a skip near the sanctuary.

And workers and volunteers are bracing themselves for an influx of pets bought as Christmas presents.

Mrs Andrea Wiggans,who works in the office, told the Bury Times: "We are expecting more animals in the coming weeks.

"At the moment the children are still probably playing with the animals and people haven't returned to work yet."

Four puppies were abandoned on December 28 and fortunately homes have already been found for two of them.

The sanctuary also fell victim to a new national trend which emerged this year, with animals and pets being abandoned before Christmas, in some cases to make way for new animals.

Bleakholt has been taking in animals since early December, including kittens around three months old.

Mrs Wiggans said: "I cannot be polite about the people who abandon animals for the message does not seem to sink in.

"We have a very strict policy about allowing people to adopt animals over the Christmas period. We just won't allow it, although we do let people reserve the animals until after Christmas. But we still take in animals that have been adopted elsewhere."