Animal welfare chiefs were astonished this week when six tiny kittens were left abandoned...on the top deck of a number 5 bus in Newham!

Celia Hammond, whose dedicated staff are facing a daily battle to keep up the number of abandoned animals, said: “It is simply unbelievable in this day and age that something like this can happen.

“The kittens were in distress as they have been parted from their mother, and she will be in distress as well.”

Celia and her team at the Celia Hammond Animal Trust in Barking Road, Canning Town, began caring for the kittens after a young woman brought them in. She made the surprise discovery on the top of the bus as it was going along the Barking Road towards Canning Town.

“They were all inside a very distinct cat basket which is white with a blue top and red marks on it.”

The kittens, who are about four weeks old, having been lovingly fed and saved by the team. They have now also been nurtured by a different mother cat that was found abandoned in Newham shortly after giving birth herself.

The Trust are now trying to find the owners and also urgently need to find people who can give the kittens homes.

“We can’t go on treating cats this way, the problem is just getting out of hand,” said Celia.

The bus company, Stagecoach ,were alerted after the kittens were dumped, and trawled through CCTV to try to get a clue to who left them.

Celia’s Trust was also this week caring for a cat that had been shot three times in the head with an air gun or rifle by some sick person in Newham.

“When we found the poor mite, we thought it was suffering cat flu, because it had the sniffles and could not breathe m, but after he did not respond to treatment we gave him an x-ray and found three pellets embedded in nose and head, Fortunately, we were able to save him and he is recovering,” said Celia.

If you can help Celia’s trust by volunteering, offering a home to the kittens, or with donations of anything from cash to blankets and similar items to help with care of animals, please contact (020) 7474 8811, or see Celia’s website www.celiahammond.org

Celia added: “Canning Town Branch is continuing to be inundated on a daily basis with calls to rescue stray and unwanted cats from the East London area and is full to capacity - as fast as we rehome the animals in our care more arrive, it is a constant battle to manage to find space to accommodate them all! There are more cats that are not yet featured on our web pages so please get in touch and see if we have that special companion for you.”