Tamworth recycling crew saves kittens dumped in bin

The kittens were found in a street bin as it was being emptied

Refuse workers in Staffordshire have saved four kittens after finding them in a cereal box dumped in a bin.

The crew, from Tamworth and Lichfield, said the one-week-old animals were found during rounds on Monday.

They had been dumped in a bin on a street near a school in Wilnecote and were discovered as it was being emptied.

Crew driver Tony Green said: "They were quite near the bottom in a Cheerios box so must have been there for a while."

The bin had last been been emptied about two weeks ago, Mr Green said.

"We had tipped the bin up and luckily heard the kittens above the engine noise. We found them right in amongst the rubbish," he added.

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The kittens - named Squeak, Socks, Snowy and Felix - have been adopted by new mum Chloe at the Little Paws Cat Haven rescue centre in Wolverhampton.

The kittens have been given a new mum by organisation Little Paws Cat Haven

"Luckily all seemed to be in good health," Claire Allerton, of the council street scene team, said.

Chloe had recently had a litter herself, but only one of her own kittens had survived.

Diane Hadlington, of Little Paws Cat Haven, said: "We're building them up and thankfully they're putting on weight as Chloe is doing a brilliant job of looking after them.

"They were obviously determined to survive because the bin men could hear them squealing, so we're determined to look after them."