PETS at Home stores in York have raise £50,000 to help animals in need this winter.

The two shops in the city joined a nationwide initiative with the RSPCA, inviting customers to purchase a raffle ticket for £1 as well as hosting several volunteer collections and fundraising events.

The money raised will help the RSPCA to continue to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome animals in desperate need of care.

Gemma Barras, store manager at York Pets at Home, said: “We are so grateful to all our generous customers for taking part and donating much needed funds.”

Sarah Colberg, Partnership Manager for the RSPCA, said: “Our 24-hour helpline receives a call on average every 30 seconds and last year alone we received over one million calls and rescued over 114,000 animals.

"We are only able to be there for animals in need due to generous donations and support so thank you to everyone for getting involved.”