Four tiny kittens have been found dumped in a plastic bag on a rubbish tip near the village of Quethiock.

The kittens, just a few weeks old, had been pushed into the bag and thrown onto the rubbish tip behind the car park at Clapper Bridge.

A group of workmen heard their cries and after clambering over rubbish found the bag and rang the Cat's Protection League in Callington where organiser Linda Dawe asked them to rush the kittens to the nearest vet.

'The person who rang, who didn't want to give his name, said the kittens were covered in flies and maggots', said Linda.

'They were in one of those open mesh bags which are often used to package nails or screws

'I asked him to take them to the vets' and he said he would'.

The kittens were taken to Calweton Veterinary Centre in Callington and were weak, very cold and distressed. Vet Stuart Gough assessed them and sadly one male was so badly infested internally with maggots it had to be put down.

The other three kittens, two black males and a female tortoiseshell, were bathed and combed to remove fly eggs and tucked up on a hot water bottle.

They were bottle fed and Nurse Claire Beal volunteered to take them home with her through the night.

They needed to be bottle fed every hour and have at least one more warm bath and comb to remove any remaining fly eggs.

Now the kittens will be looked after until it is time to re-home them. Hopefully they will all recover

Linda Dawe said that the Cat's Protection League could not take the kittens because they have a shortage of staff and could not bottle feed thought the night.

She was furious that anyone would dump kittens.

'There is just no need to do such a cruel thing and cause such suffering', she said. 'Whoever had the kittens could have brought them to us, or taken them to a vet. Nobody these days needs to do a thing like this.

'She said she was grateful that the workmen had acted so quickly and gone out of their way to make sure the kittens were put into safe hands.

Mrs Dawe added that the Cat's Protection League in Callington was overwhelmed with cats at the moment which need new homes.

'We desperately need homes for adult cats at the moment', she said.

The Callington League can be contacted on 01579 382794 or 01822833780.