Eleven dogs burn to death in fire at kennels in Staffordshire

Eleven pet dogs are dead after a fire at a private kennels in Staffordshire on Saturday morning.

Staff were hurt as they desperately tried to rescue the dogs, with four pooches managing to escape the flames.

The company posted a statement on its Facebook page on Sunday confirming eleven dogs had died when they were 'overcome with fumes' and that staff were 'devastated'.

They wrote: 'Hi all most of you know we had a devastating fire in the early hours of Saturday morning with 11 of our beloved dogs sadly losing their lives.

'We are absolutely devastated. The dogs were not locked in and had large runs on the outside, the ones that were out Deborah and myself managed to get out, 4 in total whilst getting injured ourselves.

'We believe the ones that weren't outside had been overcome by fumes so hopefully knew nothing about it.

'I would like to thank you all for your lovely messages of support and all the people that have already helped with the clean up.

'We will be remaining open and hope you continue to support us as the dog park was not affected at all. Please bear with as we are struggling to come to terms with this tradegy.

'R.I.P. Socks, Skip, Chip, Chilli, Pepper, Hunter, Jade, Boomer, Tequila, Jack and Lyla. You were our lives.'

South Staffordshire Police was called to the kennels in The Holloway and said officers believe there are no suspicious circumstances.