A SURPRISE £120,000 donation to an animal shelter will see flood damaged kennels renovated and transformed into a comfortable haven for homeless dogs and cats.

Pet rescue charity, Saving and Rehoming Animals (SARA) in Redcar, was awarded the substantial sum in a shock announcement at a community gathering to support the shelter.

Earlier this year, SARA applied to the Support Adoption For Pets grant scheme for £70,000 to complete extensive building renovations to transform its old kennel block, which had been flooded and was in need of repair.

As part of the grant application process, charity manager Amy Angus visited SARA to assess the site and realised more money was needed to boost the premises.

The full grant was unveiled at a joint event between SARA, Pets At Home partner colleagues and the Mayor of Redcar and Cleveland.

Anne Davison, chair of the rescue centre, said: “When we were told that our grant application for £70,000 had been accepted, we were absolutely over the moon.

“So when Support Adoption For Pets surprised us with £120,000 we were utterly shocked – never in our wildest dreams would we ever have imagined this would happen and we just couldn’t believe our eyes.

“We’d planned to raise the remaining £50,000 ourselves through a number of fundraising activities over the course of the next year, and now this extremely generous grant means we can begin helping more dogs and cats even sooner.

“We’re certain the renovated kennels will make a huge difference to the quality of care we provide to the stray dogs and cats at the centre, as well as allowing us to start work on other projects that will benefit pets in our care.”

The new state-of-the-art kennels will undergo major structural work and will be fitted with underfloor heating, energy-efficient headlamps and a new drainage system, allowing the centre to house eight dogs

The renovation is expected to be completed in October.

Ms Angus added: “SARA is the extremely worthy recipient of the largest donation we have ever given. We felt it was the right thing to do to help out a charity that started out from such humble beginnings.”