Help is needed at a hard-up chicken rescue centre after drainage problems reached a critical point.

Little Hen Rescue, in Flordon, near Newton Flotman, re-homes chickens with families around Norfolk and Suffolk, saving them from slaughter at the end of their commercial life with egg farms.

The centre is a volunteer-run, non-profit-making organisation that was started in 2008 which can take up to 2,000 hens and chickens at one time.

But a lack of funds means the volunteers running Little Hen Rescue are finding the going tough.

They are making a public plea for a construction or groundworks company to help sort out the drainage system around their stables.

The chickens aren't affected by the problems but recently – with the heavy rainfall – volunteers have had to wade through mud and deep water to get to the birds to box them up and children haven't been able to come and choose their new pets.

Spokesman for Little Hen Rescue, Glyn Williams, said: 'We need someone who can lend us the time and labour of their workforce, rather than money.

'The situation is that we can still do our jobs but the drainage just can't cope.'

One of the reasons that the centre is feeling the pressure, as previously reported, is because of the costs of break-ins last year.

In September gates and fences at the centre were smashed and 15 cockerels were taken, while in April about �150 cash was taken along with a petrol strimmer worth around �150, when units at the centre were targeted.

With the volunteers rescuing over 1,300 chickens in the last fortnight, it is the feed for those animals that funds must be channelled towards first.

Mr Williams added: 'For us it's as much about pleasing the children when they come to choose their new pets as it is about the chickens. It is also a health and safety issue for our volunteers and the drainage just can't cope.'

For information, go to www.littlehenrescue.co.uk, or to contact the centre and offer help, call founder Jo Eglen on 07540 541686 or email littlehenrescue@hotmail.com

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