A RUGBY player has set up a new charity to help abandoned dogs.

Joel Ringer, 20, of Augusta Road in Penarth has just formed Save Our Sighthounds, a charitable organisation which aims to help greyhounds, whippets and other types of sight hounds which have been discarded by their owners.

The charity is inspired by Mr Ringer's two and a half year old whippet, Lenny, whom he rescued when the dog was just 10 weeks old.

He said that around 50,000 sight hounds are abandoned each year which includes 3000 in the UK and 300-500 in Wales.

Mr Ringer, who has played at the academy for the likes of Neath and Toulon, follows a number of dog charities on twitter and saw the heartbreaking story of a litter of puppies who had been illegally bred and were about to be put down.

He responded to them and it was then that he found his dog, Lenny.

Mr Ringer said: "I thought about working with local homes but there aren't many specifically for sight hounds.

"I also thought I would get some satisfaction from doing it myself."

Mr Ringer has long term aspirations to play professional rugby and says he wants to see the charity grow alongside his career.

In the long term, he wants to actually house dogs in private kennels but first he will be supporting local charities by negotiating cut price trade deals with dog food suppliers before fairly distributing food amongst charities.

He will also be responding to distressed dogs and ensuring any abandoned dog gets safely put into a kennel and is then happily re-homed.

Mr Ringer said: "We have always had dogs in the family and so the cause is close to my heart.

"The town is filled with very nice people, who are very generous, and who love dogs.

"I think my new charity could bring us even closer together as a community."

Standard annual membership is £5 and associate membership is £10.

Those who join will receive updates about the items their money is going towards including discounted vet bills and food to help dogs in need as well as two annual newsletters.

For more information visit www.saveoursighthounds.co.uk.