ANIMALS are being abandoned in increasing numbers as Oxfordshire's pet owners feel the effects of the credit crunch, experts claimed.

Staff at Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary said the situation was increasingly desperate as more and more owners were turning up on their doorstep unable to look after their pets.

They said the number of animals being brought to them because their owners were forced to move home, mostly due to financial pressures, had more than tripled in a year.

And they described owners being forced to hand over family pets because they could no longer afford to care for them.

Sanctuary manager Ron Heath said: "It's heartbreaking.

"The staff don't like to see animals coming in - they like to see them going out. We get a lot of people crying when they hand their pets over, that's very hard."

The Stadhampton-based sanctuary is looking after 100 dogs, 80 cats and 60 rabbits.

Between September 2007 and May 2008 the centre admitted 62 animals because their owners were forced to move home and their new landlord would not allow pets.

Across the same period last year that figure was 20.

Staff said often people could no longer afford their mortgages and had to move into rented accommodation which didn't allow pets. The sanctuary categorises this situation as financial hardship.

Mr Heath said the centre had seen a lot of animals which hadn't had appropriate medical care, such as vaccinations, because of the cost.

And he said the price of pet food was also rising.

A 32-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, described leaving her German Shepherd, Red, at the centre.

The woman and her husband, who used to live in Sandhills, Oxford, had to give up Red after a cut in their benefits forced them to move to a cheaper home in Wheatley.

She said: "My husband suffers from depression and the reason we got the dog was to help him.

"Now I can see him slipping back little by little. It was very upsetting, everyone was crying."

Debbie Heath, a trustee of the centre, said they were in a "desperate" financial situation and appealed for donations.

She said: "We probably only have about six months' money in the bank. It's the least we've had for many years.

"We're not getting as many people coming to view animals. People don't want to take them on because they are worried about the extra expense. People are just turning up on the doorstep with their dog or cat saying they've lost their home. It's very sad."

The RSPCA recorded a 31 per cent increase in unwanted animals in the East of England, including Oxfordshire, last year - rising from 2,180 in 2006 to 2,864 in 2007.

But spokesman Sophie Wilkinson said: "We think it's too early to put a rise in abandonments down to the credit crunch."

To donate to Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, call 01865 890305.