THE RSPCA today said people had ignored its annual warning about buying pets for Christmas after a flood of calls reporting abandoned dogs.

Among the first casualties were three tiny cross-breed puppies who are now being looked after at the charity's shelter in Altham following their discovery at the side of a busy road.

The pups, named Noel, Blitzen and Drift by staff, now need homes after they were dumped in Rochdale on Christmas Eve. RSPCA centres across the North West are full.

Kevin Hegarty, from the RSPCA in the North West, said: "Despite a national TV advertisement, people are still buying puppies for Christmas presents, then abandoning them when they have had enough."

And spokeswoman Ann Grain added: "People just seem willing to dump their pets when they become inconvenient or too much trouble and it is the poor animals that end up paying the price. We are living in a throwaway society and animals are looked upon as being disposable."

Altham RSPCA centre manager Jeanette Ainscough said the three pups from Rochdale were taken to her shelter as all others in the North West were full, including hers.

"If people would just think before they went out and bought animals as gifts it would save a lot of innocent animals from being dumped out on the streets and even worse," she said.

Anyone found guilty of abandoning an animal can be jailed for up to six months, fined £5,000 and banned from keeping animals for life.

People who feel they can no longer cope with an animal are urged to contact the RSPCA. Anyone who can adopt an animal from an RSPCA centre in the North West should ring 08705 555 999.