GANGS of feral cats are growing in deprived parts of Burnley and Pendle where people have moved house and deserted their pets.

Burnley and Pendle Cats Protection said the ‘feral communities’ were a result of people moving out of houses earmarked for demolition or redevelopment and then leaving their cats behind to fend for themselves.

Kittens born outdoors to long-term strays are deemed feral and make up the new gangs plaguing the Brunshaw Road and Coal Clough Lane areas of Burnley as well as the Whitefield area of Nelson, according to the voluntary organisation.

Welfare officer Leanne, who asked not to be named in full after people have dumped unwanted animals on her doorstep, said three eight-week-old feral kittens were discovered behind a shop in Market Square, Nelson, on Monday, and the kittens’ mother, a long-term stray, was found nearby.

The family has been taken in by the organisation, which has had the adult spayed to prevent it having another litter, and will now work towards taming the feral kittens before they can be re-housed.

But Leanne said there were already four kittens at their ‘cat cabin’ waiting to be re-housed and another 46 waiting to be collected after people had temporarily taken them in.

She is urging people to contact the charity to take the cats.

Leanne said: “The long-term strays are not housable, but people in the areas where they live don’t mind them too much because they keep the mice and rats down.

“But we don’t want the communities to grow too big because they inter-breed, so they become weaker.”

Pendle Councillor Eileen Ansar, who owns a shop in Nelson, said she will raise the issue at the Nelson Committee.

Burnley and Pendle Cats Protection, launched in April last year, is run by around 15 volunteers.

New volunteers are being sought. Call 01282 859847.