Bristol Animal Rescue Centre left struggling after burst pipe flood

An animal rescue centre in Bristol has flooded due to a burst pipe caused by the recent cold weather.

Bristol Animal Rescue Centre has been mopping up after the burst pipe flooded their food storage area.

No animals were affected by the incident, which happened last weekend (December 17).

The full extent of the flood's damage is not yet known but a full examination of the affected area will take place after it has dried out.

Coralie Farren, Chief Executive of Bristol Animal Rescue Centre said: “First, we would like to reassure everyone that our animals and team are all safe and remain our top priority - no animals, staff or volunteers were harmed.

"The sub-zero temperatures caused some of the pipework to rupture, with our food storage spaces among the worst hit areas on site.

"Luckily we were able to salvage quite a bit of the food, which was stored in air-tight containers, but there is damage to the buildings.

“We have been unable to assess the extent of the damage as yet, and will not be able to do so until the area has dried out enough to safely allow further inspection.

"Areas that appear to be damaged so far include our main kitchen and store room and pipe damage on the outsides of two kennel blocks and the cattery – although crucially (and thankfully) not on the inside where the animals currently reside."

All of this has placed extra pressure on the team at the rescue centre, which is already battling rising food and energy bills, alongside a huge increase in demand for their help.

What can I do to help?

Although tempting to donate food to the centre, it's struggling with the storage of the donations that the centre is receiving.

Coralie said: "We know that so many generous people will be wanting to donate food and goods to us, but sadly we're really struggling for storage space after all of this so we would ask everyone to please avoid bringing donations directly to the site.

"Instead, we would kindly suggest that anyone wanting to help please offers a donation to our Christmas Appeal, which goes directly towards caring for our animals.

"Please be assured our animals are all safe and well cared for and we thank all of you for your kind support at this difficult time”.

For anyone wanting to donate to the Christmas Appeal, details can be found on the Bristol Animal Rescue Centre Website.