The pet food bank helping dog and cat owners to keep their animals

An animal charity in Somerset has launched a food bank for pets to help deal with the growing problem of owners who can’t afford to feed them.

St Giles, which is based between Taunton and Langport, says its rescue centre is full and it has a long waiting list. It hopes the project will help keep pets in their homes.

The cost of living crisis has contributed to a rise in rescues, so the charity has joined forces with some of its suppliers to offer the pet food bank service.

One user, who wished to remain anonymous, told ITV News West Country how vital the service was after receiving food for his eight-year-old dog Titch.

He said: "[It would be] I eat or she eats, or I have to give her up, which obviously I don't want to do. I've had her all her life. She's my best friend. I'd be lost without her, I really would."

The food bank is for people on benefits or low incomes. Applications can be made via the St Giles website.

Director of St Giles Animal Centre, Jack Linnell, said: "The worrying thing at the moment is the number of animals post-Covid that are looking to be rehomed. If we can try our best to keep these animals in a loving home that's what we're going to try and do.

"There's not a lot of facilities in this area that can help with rehoming, so we're just looking at new incentives to try and do our best to make sure the animals are either staying in loving homes or, if we do need to help rehome them, then we're rehoming them to sensible owners."

On top of helping pet owners, the charity needs help too. Its ‘heat a kennel’ campaign is driven by the rising cost of energy.

Gemma Power, senior rehoming coordinator, said: "We have had a lot of animals come in in quite a poor condition. They've been neglected. So at the moment we are having to increase our funds and stuff to help heat the kennels. So that's why we brought out the campaign."