Pets at Home has announced that its Santa Paws appeal raised £1,476,668 for abandoned pets in the UK.

The appeal, which is run annually by the charity Support Adoption For Pets, smashed its target of 2,400,000 dinners and instead raised enough to provide 2,953,336 dinners for pets in rescue centres around the country.

Throughout December, Pets at Home stores across the UK worked hard to support the Santa Paws appeal by collecting donations to provide meals for homeless pets. Stores helped provide nearly three million dinners for homeless pets across the country.

Of the total money raised, half will be donated directly to local rescue centres to help them continue to make a difference in the community. The remainder will be used by Support Adoption For Pets to support the rehoming of pets in the UK through its grant programme and other charitable activities.

Support Adoption For Pets was established by Pets at Home in 2006. Every year the charity supports more than 1,000 pet rehoming organisations across the UK by awarding grants and running fundraising campaigns with Pets at Home.