A volunteer group decided to sleep rough in dog kennels to raise money for a Guildford dog rescue centre.

Ellen Varney wanted to do all she could to help Chimney Farm Dog Sanctuary, in Normandy, which was founded by Jennifer Gilbert, 39, and Lisa Webster, 44.

Along with her friends and colleagues, Ms Varney decided to camp out for a night in the sanctuary's kennels, owned by Julia Stephenson, while enjoying a barbecue.

Ms Varney said: "We set up our bedding in the barn and that is when the fun really began, the dogs discovered air mattresses and sleeping bags.

"It was really funny watching them all play. We hardly had any sleep, the dogs didn't seem to understand that it was bed time and just wanted to play all night, which was fine by us!"

In the morning after the event on September 2, they were greeted with cups of tea and croissants by some of the other volunteers before they did the 8am feeds and walked the dogs.

"All in all, we had an amazing time, so did the dogs and ultimately we raised a great amount of money, with hopefully more to come," Ms Varney added.

So far the group of Greg Kingdon, Jack Ewing, Tanya Chainey, Hugo Rivero, Katie Jacobs, Paul Tully and Fanny Carlson and Ms Varney have accumulated £815 of £1,000 after smashing their original target of £600.

Every Wednesday, Ms Varney runs a dog walk along with her nearest and dearest, who all share a love of dogs and want to help the cause.

She said: "We meet up, and I will allocate each human a dog for the evening. We normally walk around three to four miles and the dogs love all being out together in a big group.

"We even sometimes make it a trip to the pub too!"

At Chimney Farm, there are around 20 dogs looking for their forever homes, with more coming in on a regular basis.

Some have experienced horrible living conditions and abuse, but the sanctuary helps them get adopted by their new families and start a new life.

To donate, visit the Just Giving page and for more information about Chimney Farm visit their website here.

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