BOXER Rescue Liverpool is being forced to close its doors after running up massive debts.

The dog rescue charity has taken in unwanted boxer dogs, young, old, ill or injured, for three years.

But owner Nicky Hughes, from Aintree, says they can no longer afford to go on, after running up thousands of pounds worth of bills from kennelling to vet care.

The charity – which is run entirely by volunteers – says they will rehome the dogs they already have, but new ones will have to be turned away.

Miss Hughes, who estimated the charity’s debt at £6,000, said: “Just since Christmas, we’ve taken in a really large amount of dogs.

“Some of them faced being put to sleep so we used private kennels to keep them.

“Because we have a no destruction policy, we can’t turn any dogs away, and we’ve run up thousands of pounds-worth of kennelling fees.

“We’ve also taken a couple of dog cruelty cases and got thousands of pounds of vets’ bills.”

Miss Hughes is hoping the closure will only be a temporary measure, and that they will be able to open again before Christmas – the season when animal charities are in most demand.

The recession was blamed for the charity’s financial difficulties.