Storms hit Welsh animals as sanctuary damaged and starfish wash up on Pembrokeshire beach

High winds and storm surges have had a dramatic impact on some of Wales' animals across the weekend.

Greenacres Animal Rescue Sanctuary in Haverfordwest had its roof blown off by high winds during Storm Eunice on Friday (February 18).

Mikey Lawlor, who manages the centre, told ITV Wales: "I've never seen wind like that before, it was taking people off their feet.

"It [the roof] literally came off, it was like a sardine can, it just peeled it off.

"We had to get our tractor out to put its bucket on the roof just to hold it on and keep it safe.

"Thankfully nobody was injured, everybody made it through, and all the animals are safe as well."

Damage to property will take weeks to clean up and repair, while drawing away vital funds and resources that are usually used to help animals most in need.

While no animals were hurt at the sanctuary, further south in Pembrokeshire, hundreds of starfish washed up dead on a beach in Wiseman's Bridge.

Disturbing photos from the beach show the creatures piled up on top of each other.

The phenomenon is believed to be the result of abnormal sea conditions caused by storms Dudley and Eunice that have battered the western coast of Wales over the last week.

A similar event occurred in Pembrokeshire in January, and while there will be concerns that incidents such as this are becoming more commonplace, as isolated events, there is not a major cause for concern.

In January, Natural Resources Wales' Senior Marine Advisor Adam Cooper said: "We do get strandings like this reported around the coast of Wales when there’s stormy weather, especially when that coincides with big tides and we’ve had both of those in the last few days."