Vets and nurses at the city's animal hospital are celebrating three years of caring for sick and injured pets.

Bradford PDSA PetAid Hospital in Lorne Street, which gives free veterinary care to animals belonging to people on benefits across the city, marks its anniversary this week.

The purpose-built hospital carries out about 46,000 procedures and treatments every year, from dental work to major orthopaedic operations.

Head vet John Taylor says without them many people across the district would not be able to look after their pets.

He said: "People just wouldn't be able to afford the care themselves. We rely totally on public support, donations and especially people's wills to keep up our work. It's our third year here and we want to have many more."

Bradford's PDSA Hospital is one of 47 such hospitals in the country.

Throughout the UK, the charity sees and treats 4,650 pets a day and it costs more than £41 million a year to run the service.

To get free treatment for their pets, owners have to be getting housing benefit or council tax benefit and live within the postcodes BD1-22, HX1-3, LS18-20, LS27-28 and WF12-17.

Darren Sharkey, of Cleckheaton, turned to the PDSA when he discovered lumps on his pet dog Suzie's teats.

He said: "That was ten months ago. They found out she had cancer and took the whole teat strip off.

"She seemed to be doing okay but then a few weeks ago I found another lump under her front leg.

"They've done a biopsy and I'm just waiting for the results."

He added: "We know the kind of cancer she has got is incurable but at least they can give her things to keep her out of pain so she can enjoy what time she has left with us.

"Without the PDSA I wouldn't be able to afford all this treatment. She'd have to have been put down."

To find out more about the charity and how to give support, log on to www.pdsa. org.uk.