Bride rescues 46 guinea pigs days before wedding

Amy Roberts said she spent the days leading up to her wedding clipping nails, treating mites and looking for foster homes for dozens of guinea pigs

A bride-to-be said she spent the days leading up to her wedding caring for dozens of poorly guinea pigs after rescuing them from "heart-breaking" conditions.

Amy Roberts, co-director of Mansfield Guinea Pig Rescue in Nottinghamshire, picked up 46 animals from a house in Loughborough, Leicestershire, after the owner was evicted.

She said some of the guinea pigs were being kept in cages so full of filth they could not leave their sleeping quarters, and at least one will have to have an eye removed.

Mrs Roberts, who got married on Sunday, has been finding foster homes and vet places for the animals, but said she still had about 35 in her shed and home.

Guinea pigs were found roaming freely around the property

"We'd discussed at the beginning of the week, we weren't going to take any more in to try and minimise stress for me. We were already full to capacity.

"[But] we saw the photos and there was no way we were going to leave them behind," she said.

Mrs Roberts, 34, said the conditions the guinea pigs were kept in were "horrific".

"The smell was like nothing I'd ever smelt before.

"When I came out the house, all night and the next day I felt like I couldn't breathe properly.

"I was heartbroken," she said.

Mrs Roberts said some of the guinea pigs were living on piles of filth

She said all the guinea pigs came to them malnourished with mites and most had been wandering freely around the property, which also had cats.

They had feet and lung infections from the conditions they were kept in, Mrs Roberts added.

She and Maria Kirkham, who runs the rescue centre with her, had to pull together a number of crates and animal carriers to bring the animals home.

They then spent the next couple of days treating the guinea pigs, finding accommodation for some of them and arranging vet visits.

The pair said they had to improvise to transport the guinea pigs

Mrs Roberts said a friend looked after the animals at her house on the day of her wedding so she could focus on getting married.

"It was absolute chaos. It added a lot of extra stress and I was so exhausted.

"But I knew my wedding day would be OK, and the reality for the guinea pigs is they weren't going to be OK," she said.

She predicted the vet bill will reach £3,000, including neutering the males.

Mansfield Guinea Pig Rescue is now appealing for donations to help towards the care of the animals.

Mansfield Guinea Pig Rescue already had about 25 guinea pigs staying with them before the animals were brought back