VOLUNTEERS have rescued three puppies who were thrown from a car in Burtonwood.

The pups and a male dog were found abandoned by the side of Gorsey Lane at around 4pm on Sunday, February 17.

While the 16-week-old lurcher puppies have since been rescued by Warrington Animal Welfare, the adult fled before volunteers could bring him to safety.

Janet Thornton, a trustee of the Slutchers Lane-based rescue centre, said: "We're getting different reports about what happened.

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"One of our members of staff lives in Burtonwood, and a farmer alerted her to three puppies and an adult male dog at the bottom of his track.

"Someone said that a white van might have dropped them there.

"The member of staff quickly went over and the adult male had run off, but she managed to catch the three puppies - two males and a bitch.

"The puppies have got quite irritable skin - they're full of fleas, filthy and underweight.

"They're very nervous and they've not had a lot of human contact - I feel that they have possibly been locked in somewhere, because they were really frightened on Sunday night."

The three 'emaciated' puppies have since been cared for by the vets and look to have a brighter future.

Janet added: "Hopefully, with some TLC, the puppies will come on.

"There is absolutely no need to do something like this when there are rescue centres out there.

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"If they had taken to them to any place of safety, it's better than putting them on a road where potentially they could get run over or cause a massive accident involving people.

"The puppies aren't ready for rehoming yet because they're too traumatised but we just want everyone to keep their eyes open in the Burtonwood area.

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"We know there is definitely one adult dog out there, but we don't know if there is a adult bitch on the loose too.

"A lot of people went out to help - one person went out with a drone with an infrared camera to find the male dog, but nobody has sighted it at all.

"If you spot the other dog, please let us know."