Man offers puppies in bucket to people in Manchester street

The puppies are being hand-reared by trained volunteers, the rescue centre said

A man holding a bucket of puppies offered them to strangers in the street, an animal sanctuary has said.

Rescue Me Animal Sanctuary in Melling said it had taken the one-week-old puppies in on Monday after their "terrible ordeal" in icy conditions.

The litter of nine "arrived quite cold and aren't feeding too well", the rescue centre said.

A woman had taken them to a vets after being approached by the man, who said he could not afford to care for them.

The sanctuary said on Facebook: "Sadly, the information we have is very vague but we were told that a man was walking the street [in Manchester] with two husky-like dogs carrying the bucket of puppies in this freezing temperature."

The puppies are thought to be a week old and had not yet opened their eyes

The puppies are being hand-reared by trained volunteers and a husky rescue group has offered to rehome those that survive.

"Our job is to get them to the point of needing homes, which is currently a long and rocky road considering their terrible ordeal", the sanctuary said.

Founder Steph Taylor, 38, appealed for help finding the man.

"We have no idea on [his] circumstances and we would like to find out who he is to offer support with a vet check for the mum, and dog food if needed", she said.

Anyone who might have already taken one of the puppies from the litter is urged to get in touch with the sanctary for help.