STAFF at a charity which saves dogs from death row are spending a night in the kennels with their canine chums to raise cash for the good cause.

Clacton-based Last Hope rescues problem pooches which are at risk of being put down after suffering from neglect and abuse.

They work hard to rehabilitate abandoned dogs and then find them suitable foster homes or new families to take them in as pets.

The charity sees the number of dumped dogs spiral across the country after Christmas.

It saves abandoned animals from council dog pounds where they face being put down if new homes are not found quickly.

Spokesman Ceri Bedlam said: "If we haven't got a foster home for them when they come in we have to pay for them to be in kennels and that costs £5 a night per dog, so that's what we are raising money for.

"It's costing us £3,000 a month because we are in desperate need of more foster homes.

"Lots of people dump their dogs at Christmas so we end up taking quite a few out of the pounds or they will be put to sleep."

Many of the dogs are hard to place with new owners because they have been horribly mistreated in the past.

The charity currently has a staffie which is believed to have been used as a 'bait dog' in the illegal sport of dog fighting.

Ceri said: "He arrived with scars on his face resembling signs that his mouth had been taped together.

"He was a frightened soul whose confidence has grown and has come a very long way since arriving in rescue.

"He is a fantastic dog but cannot live with other pets and is claustrophobic."

She says more staffies are abandoned than any other breed.

"They like to be with people and find it really hard if there is no interaction," said Ceri.

"But 80 per cent of them will be dumped by the age of two. They are the most over-bred dog and we are constantly calling on the Government to stop people breeding them because they are usually bred by the wrong kind of people.

"The market is flooded so they are given away cheaply."

Charity founder Nicola Brooks-Belcher, from Clacton, will is having a 'sleepover' in the kennels at Hiskeys Farm Kennels, in Manningtree, tomorrow***FRIJAN20*** with fellow volunteers Elizabeth White and Ellen Charlotte.

To sponsor them visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Last-Hope-EB.