AN urgent appeal to find the mother of five abandoned kittens found in a farm shed where 260 other animals were left to die has been launched.

RSPCA volunteers are appealing to find the mother of the five-day-old kittens found in a shed at Low Goosepool Farm, near Middleton St George, Darlington, where the emaciated carcasses of 264 guinea pigs, mice and rabbits were found.

The property had been rented from the owner of the farm.

Officers believe the mother may have been taken in by a benevolent member of the public or may have fled when RSPCA officials arrived at the scene after a member of the public raised the alarm on Sunday.

The kittens, which are being hand-reared by an RSPCA volunteer, need their mother to ensure their best chance of survival.

They were discovered by a BBC cameraman, who called the RSPCA and kept them warm on the bonnet of a car until they arrived.

The kittens, which require feeding with kitten milk every two hours around the clock, will need almost constant care and attention for ten weeks.

The foster carer, who does not want to be named, has also been putting the kittens next to a blanket wrapped round a ticking clock to simulate their mother's heartbeat.

However, the carer, who has hand-reared more than 400 other kittens, told The Northern Echo the kittens really needed their mother.

She said: "I have managed to hand-rear three-day-old kittens before, but it is very hard to hand-rear them without their mum.

"It would be ideal if we could find the mother to look after them, because obviously mother is best."

An RSPCA spokeswoman said: "The kitten's mother may have been taken in by someone as a goodwill gesture and we need to find her because the kittens are only a few days old."

She said the group also needed financial donations because it relied entirely on fundraising and the public's generosity.

She said: "Every penny that is spent on these little kittens will be generated by fundraising events and public donations."

Anyone who can help or who would like to make a donation has been asked to call the charity on 01388-730248.