CARING college students from Kidderminster have teamed up with a charity to raise funds to look after homeless, unwanted, sick and injured pets.

Learners have been helping out at the Blue Cross warehouse in Hartlebury, sorting out donated goods to distribute to the charity’s 53 charity shops across the UK.

The students select clothing, books and household goods and bag them up ready for delivery and have also organised fundraising events including a car wash.

The pilot scheme was inspired following talks by Blue Cross Education Officer Jason Cortis who has visited the college several times to deliver sessions about responsible pet ownership and how to stay safe around dogs.

In return, and to support the charity’s work, tutor Sharon Strange incorporated the new activities into their Vocational Study Course.

She said: “It is great to see how the students have developed over the year through this pilot project.

“Experience being in a genuine working environment has been so valuable to them and has really helped them to gain confidence.

“I’m really proud of their enthusiasm and dedication to helping raise funds and support the charity’s work.”

Jason Cortis added: “These students have really engaged with our talks and are all animal lovers who wanted to give something back to help pets themselves.

“It has been a pleasure meeting them and we wish them the very best with their studies and future careers.”