POLICE are appealing for information about several dogs that were dumped and left out in the cold in Yelverton car park at the weekend.

Rescuers believe up to five dogs were taken to the car park on Sunday evening and left there, but only four have been caught so far. The animals are two West Highland Terriers, a Shih Tzu and a cross-breed. Another dog is still missing.

Tracey Beech, a veterinary nurse from Town Farm Vets in Horrabridge, said she received a call on Sunday night from a girl who had spotted the dogs.

Tracey said: 'A local Horrabridge girl, who knew I kept and rescued dogs, was in Yelverton car park with her boyfriend when she spotted a group of dogs. She phoned me and I drove up to have a look. There was a pile of straw where they had obviously been left.'

Mrs Beech spent more than an hour trying to catch the dogs in the dark, with only the headlights on her car for visibility, but successfully caught three of them that night with the help of an RSPCA inspector.

'I went back on Monday morning and chased the dog with another nurse but couldn't catch it with our catch-poles. The RSPCA inspector turned up and we managed to catch the fourth one with a net.'

The dogs were taken to The Veterinary Hospital in Estover in Plymouth. Student veterinary nurse Nikki Denton said they turned up in a terrible state: 'Their fur was really badly matted with faeces like we've never seen before. It took two nurses three hours to clip them. We bathed them and made them comfortable and hopefully we can find nice, new homes for them now.'

There is still a collie that has not been caught in the Yelverton area.

Anyone who has information about the whereabouts of the last missing dog should contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234999.

Anyone with information about the person who abandoned these dogs should call the police on 08452 777444.