A FAMILY-owned firm has responded to a plea from an animal rescue centre by supplying some much-needed bedding.

Plevin, the wood recycling company headquartered in Mossley, Greater Manchester, decided to help Tameside Rabbit and Guinea Pig Rescue following an appeal for food, hay, straw and shavings in the Tameside Reporter newspaper.

The centre, in Audenshaw, recently took in 21 rabbits from the RSPCA. Prior to being rescued the animals had been living in awful conditions, with rats in their cages and no access to daylight.

The centre was thrilled to receive a call from Plevin group sales manager Colin Smith offering to provide 100 bales of Plevin’s market-leading Woodpecker shavings – saving the centre about £700. 

A spokesperson for the rescue centre said: “I am extremely grateful to Plevin for their help. The donation has made a massive difference at a very busy and challenging time for us.

“It’s nice to know that one of the area’s biggest employers still finds the time to help good causes in the community.”

Colin said: “We are pleased to be able to help such as worthwhile cause. When I saw the appeal in the Reporter I had no hesitation in picking up the phone.

“Hopefully our donation will go some way towards making life more bearable for the rabbits.”

Plevin is one of the UK’s leading wood processing and recycling companies – collecting, processing and distributing 600,000 tonnes of wood a year. 

It employs 150 people across five UK sites, including 65 at its Mossley headquarters from where it has produced a wide range of sustainable wood-based products since 1995.

The company sources waste wood from council civic amenity sites, skip hire firms, pallet manufacturers and joinery workshops.

Earlier this year Plevin announced it was teaming up with New Charter Housing Trust, supplying wood pellets for use in a biomass boiler that forms part of a groundbreaking renewable energy system at Cavendish Mill in Ashton-under-Lyne. 

In addition to its Woodpecker bedding products, Plevin also produces a range of small animal bedding products under its Snowflake brand.