Cambridge cats get van full of new toys after flood woe

Even the cats were curious about what was arriving in the 107 parcels delivered on Monday

An animal rescue centre where equipment and toys were destroyed in flash floods last week has been inundated with parcels from well-wishers.

Cats' scratching posts and countless toys were ruined at Cambridge's Blue Cross centre during Thursday's storm.

More than 100 packages have been delivered to replace what was lost and a fundraising website has received £10,000 in donations.

Alan Maskell, from the centre, said staff were overwhelmed by the kindness.

A delivery van containing 107 parcels of toys arrived on Monday morning and many other people came in off the street to donate gifts.

A full delivery van arrived with 107 donated parcels just for the rehoming centre

The rehoming centre started a Just Giving page with the aim of raising £1,500 but by Tuesday morning it had raised more than £10,000.

Mr Maskell said: "The public response has been terrific.

"Local pet shops have said they've never known so many scratch posts to be sold in a weekend.

"We're extremely grateful to all those people - it's been overwhelming.

"Staff are very emotional about the sheer weight of support and kindness coming our way."

Fifteen kittens in the centre's nursery had to be evacuated

All 90 scratching posts were saturated and began to fall apart