A FORMER betting shop could soon become home for dozens of abandoned reptiles.
Members of one of the country's leading reptile specialist organisations, the Reptile Trust, have applied for permission to convert the former William Hills at Burnopfield, Derwentside, County Durham, into a quarantine and veterinary treatment facility.
If they are successful it would allow the trust to operate a referral service for veterinary treatment across Britain.
It would also allow surgical treatment to be undertaken on the site for the abandoned pets. The Reptile Trust members currently work at a premises next door to the William Hills site on Busty Bank in the village.
Councillors at Derwentside District Council are expected to agree to the proposal at a planning meeting on Thursday.
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