ON the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me – 12 volunteers and their dogs sleeping out to raise money for a rescue centre.

The volunteers have been sleeping in the kennels at Stray Aid in Coxhoe, in County Durham, for the last 11 nights to raise money to secure the future of the charity.

Hannah Critchlow, 22, from Coxhoe, and her rescue dog Jasper, was the first person to sleep out for the 12 days of Christmas fundraiser and has since been joined by one more each night.

Tonight – the 12th day of Christmas –12 people will be spending the night in the kennels with their dogs, which have all been adopted from Stray Aid.

Ms Critchlow, who has worked at Stray Aid for around six years, said: “It hasn’t been too bad. I’ve only been home three times since it started because I work here as well through the day. Some nights have been cold but it’s been a really good thing.

“I’m definitely looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again though.”

They are fundraising as part of the rescue centre’s attempt to raise £250,000 to buy its premises and replace its ageing kennels.

Stray Aid, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, wants to buy its site to ensure the charity’s long term future.

Started with just 10 kennels by Sue and John Bielby, it now has around 100 and helps 15,000 dogs a year.

A team of around 50 volunteers keep the place going, make sure the dogs are walked and clean the kennels.

So far the 12 days of Christmas fundraiser has raised around £3,000, while the Stray Aid appeal is up to more than £92,000.

Ms Critchlow added: “We do a lot of charity nights and dances and people get a bit bored with them so we wanted to do something different and imaginative to catch people’s attention.

“It’s not something we’ve ever done before.

“I love this place, I would do anything to help which is why I volunteered to do all 12 nights.

“We never put a healthy dog down and we get everything – some of them are really challenging but we do our best for them. The volunteers are all really dedicated to what we’re doing.”

To donate visit www.strayaid.org.uk