Six kittens and their mum rescued from water treatment site in Torquay

A local animal charity spent more than a week rescuing the cats Credit: South West Water

A family of six kittens and their mum have been rescued from a water treatment site in Devon.

A worker from South West Water discovered a severely underweight and malnourished kitten at the company's site in Torquay.

The employee then contacted Hectors House, a cat rescue charity based in South Devon, who discovered that the kitten was not alone.

The team spent more than a week rescuing a further five kittens and their mother from an area of the site.

They were then taken to a nearby vet for treatment and all six kittens are now recovering at approved foster homes.

As a thank you to South West Water, they've been given new names based on Devon reservoirs - Tottiford, Burrator, Kennick, Avon, Meldon and Fernworthy.

Burrator, Tottiford, Kennick and Meldon are now settling into their foster homes Credit: South West Water

Zara Oldfield, founder of Hector’s House has warned of the importance of reporting animal findings.

She said: “It is incredibly important to report a found kitten to a suitable local rescue as soon as possible.

"This is essential to ensure that they are in good health but also to get them neutered and into a home environment as soon as possible.

“Our work has one purpose – to put the welfare of cats first.

"We want to thank the team at South West Water for working with us to get these cats to safety and for doing the right thing by reaching out to a charity such as ours to help save them from the streets.”