CALLS to the RSPCA’s 24-hour cruelty telephone line have almost doubled within six months and we are asking people in the North-East and North Yorkshire to show patience as it prioritises the workload.

Although calls to the 0300-1234-999 helpline increase each year during persistently mild and dry weather and longer daylight hours, this summer the RSPCA is facing an unprecedented demand.

We are doing all we can to answer as many calls as possible, but exceptionally high call volumes means the charity will be unable to answer advice calls during the evenings and weekends.

We will nevertheless be dealing with emergency calls as usual – 24 hours, seven days a week. A similar system operated during the summer of 2004.

Dogs in hot cars, animals wounded in airgun incidents or animals dumped in the holidays all increase during the lighter summer months and must be a top priority for the charity.

It is worth remembering that the RSPCA has less than 500 frontline staff for the whole of England and Wales who deal with these calls and investigations (equating to one for every 110,446 people). That figure includes just 130 for the whole of the North of England.

Mike Hogg, North Regional Manager, RSPCA.