A DOG rehoming charity is to offer free neutering to the owners of lurchers, in an attempt to stop large numbers of unwanted puppies being born each year.

The Dogs Trust in Darlington said hundreds of lurchers are handed over to them each year, with thousands of puppies born each year that are often killed days after birth.

The charity, which has a rehoming centre in Sadberge, near Darlington, is offering free neutering for lurchers whose owners are in receipt of means tested benefits living in the Darlington area.

The Dogs Trust actively promotes neutering as a way of reducing the numbers of abandoned dogs, but says it also help animals to become calmer and more suitable as a family pet.

A spokeswoman said: "Year after year the charity has hundreds of abandoned lurchers handed over to them - the trust looked after 154 last year alone.

"Neutering helps prevent thousands of unwanted puppies being destroyed, cruelly abandoned just days or weeks after their birth or sold online to people who buy a puppy on impulse, only to give it up when they realise the time and money it takes to care for a dog properly."

Dogs can be neutered at any age from about four months.

For more information contact Dogs Trust Darlington on 01325-333114.