THE RSPCA will carry out emergency rescues cases during the coronavirus crisis, its chief executive has said. 

Chris Sherwood praised the charity's frontline officers, hospital workers, centre staff and volunteers who have helped animals in emergency situations at a time when social distancing is inforce across the country.

Reassuring animal lovers that this work will continue, Mr Sherwood added: "We've taken steps to make sure that we are dealing with emergency cases only, so we can play our part in stopping the spread of this virus and safeguard our staff and volunteers.

"We rely on the public's help and we would ask them to only call our helpline in an emergency and visit our website for all other enquiries."

To help the RSPCA continue helping animals in emergency need of care, or to donate, visit https://www.rspca.org.uk/coronavirus or call its donation line on 0300 123 8181.

Chris Sherwood added: “We know these are really worrying times for everyone and I hope hearing that we are still helping animals is a little piece of good news.

“We know many people will be financially worse off as a result of this crisis but if anyone is in a position to make a donation to help our services continue we would really appreciate it.”