A group of kind-hearted pet lovers from the North East have set up a food bank to support pet owners struggling to feed their animals during the cost-of-living crisis.

Four women who live in Sunderland, Seaham and Peterlee have banded together to create Pet Angels Wearside (PAWs) – a food pantry stocking pet food for owners who need support.

Catering for all animals, PAWs seeks to help people who own all types of animals from cats and dogs to rabbits and guinea pigs.

Read more: Families in the North East resort to food banks after mortgage rises

Set up at the start of July, the women are currently running the service out of their own homes as they one day dream to have a unit of their own.

To find out more about their work, The Northern Echo chatted to one co-runner of PAWs, Laura White, who admitted the reaction and support from the community has been extremely positive.

“It’s only been around a week that we have been running PAWs, but we have already received a great response with donations and people have been asking for help”, she said.

“A lot of people have been wishing us luck and have been asking to donate already. In the community, people who can help have wanted to help.

“We currently operate out of our houses, but we do hope one day to have our own space. But, there is rent to think about and running costs so it is hard.”

Laura helps run PAWs alongside fellow animal lovers Janice Peart, Wendy Roke and Julie Wilson.

The friends have all seen the cost of owning an animal soar during the cost-of-living crisis, and they hope their support will mean that owners do not have to face the possibility of having to give up their pets.

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Laura said: “Everyone is in the same position because everything has just gone up. The price of animal food has almost doubled.

“We have found that a lot of people are having to surrender their animals and make that difficult choice.

“Hopefully, our support will give a bit of leeway to people because I have been helped in the past. I know how it feels to be in that position.

“The hardest part is asking for help, but we don’t want anyone to ever feel uncomfortable or feel like they cannot come forward and ask for that help.”

To donate to PAWs or find out more about their work, click here.