Dogs rescued from dark boarded up house

Lara King/BBC Two white Dalmatian dogs on the knee of a woman. The woman has dark hair and is wearing a black and white zipped jumper. She is smiling and giving the dogs plenty of attention.Lara King/BBC
Erica Fox from Paw & Co Freedom Field with two of the dogs rescued from a house in Grimsby

Sixteen dogs living in darkness inside a boarded up house have been rescued, an animal welfare group said.

The animals were discovered, along with the bodies of three dead dogs, at a house in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, after a joint rescue effort between Paw & Co Freedom Field and the RSPCA.

The surviving dogs are all now in rescue kennels after being treated by vets and it is hoped they will be rehomed.

Erica Fox, from Paw & Co Freedom Field, said: "It's incomprehensible what we have witnessed."

"The house was fully boarded up, front and back, with no natural daylight and the light switches didn't work, so they were in complete darkness," she said.

"All the dogs have wonderful temperaments to say what they've been through and they've coped really well.

"I think they're just happy now and they're thanking us for getting them out of there."

One of the dead dogs was found in a freezer, with two in a shallow grave, she added.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: "We are grateful to all the charities who have helped these dogs."

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