DOG lovers are being urged to help send a flyball team to Crufts by taking part in a sponsored dog walk.

The Barney Bombers, from Barnard Castle Dog Training Club, are holding the walk, in the grounds of Raby Castle, Staindrop, to help send eight people and six dogs to the National Exhibition Centre, in Birmingham.

Money raised from the walk will also be donated to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, the Teesdale branch of Riding for the Disabled and Save Our Strays.

The Barney Bombers are the club's younger team and are following in the success of the Barney Bullets, who qualified for Crufts three times.

The three-and-a-half mile walk will take place on Sunday, February 15.

The walk will start at 10.30am with participants setting off in groups at 15-minute intervals throughout the day. The last group can check in at 1.45pm.

Information packs and sponsorship forms are available from the Barnard Castle and West Auckland surgeries of Castle Veterinary Surgeons, Star Yard Cobblers, Barnard Castle and Barnard Castle Tourist Information Centre. Alternatively, they can be obtained by calling (01833) 638584.