DOZENS of cats dumped and left to freeze in the snow are ready to go to new homes after being saved from almost certain death by an East Lancashire charity.

The 38 cats were rescued by workers at Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary in Rossendale after a member of staff stumbled across the freezing felines on the way to work in November

Although many of the animals were in poor health -- one expert said they were the animal equivalent of concentration camp victims -- they have all been nurtured and are now well enough to be adopted by new owners.

All the cats will go on display at the sanctuary next Sunday.

Sanctuary manager Neil Martin said it was the worst case he had dealt during his 15-year career in which he has nurtured 30,000 animals and that staff were almost sure they now knew who had abandoned the cats. He said: "These cats will be available for viewing and subsequent adoption on Sunday.

"Abandoning them was a cruel and heartless thing to do and, although we are used to the callous way people dump their pets, this was definitely the largest single group dumped in my 15 years experience.

"We are now fairly sure we know who dumped them."

The cats were abandoned in temperatures of minus 3 degrees in Bury Old Road, leading to the animal sanctuary.

They were discovered the next morning by a worker who had abandoned his car because of thick snow and trudged into work -- saving them from a slow death through hypothermia.

Anyone who can offer a home or a donation should call 08700 620530 or visit the sanctuary on Sunday.