A HYNDBURN animal shelter will be playing host to an unusual visitor over the festive season...a ferret.

The 15 inch white creature was dropped off at the Altham RSPCA shelter last week by Pauline Long, of York Street, Church.

She explained how she came across her unusual find: "I was inside the house and I could hear my dog going mad in the back garden. I thought he had caught a cat or something so I dashed outside to see him wagging his tail. I looked around and I saw this thing with red eyes, which turned out to be the ferret.

"I rang my partner Shaun to see what he knew about ferrets. He told me they smell."

Because she was unable to look after the unusual pet, Pauline took it to the RSPCA shelter were the furry ferret is making himself at home for the winter.

A spokeswoman for the shelter said: "We do get unusual pets in from time to time but often we can't look after them.

"However, this time we were able to take the ferret in and hopefully we will be able to find his owners or find him a new home."

The spokeswoman added the shelter was full to capacity at the moment and a waiting list had been created for abandoned animals.

If you know the owner of the ferret, contact the RSPCA shelter on (01254) 231118.

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