A SITE in Somerset is celebrating saving 23,365 hens destined to be slaughtered following it recent 100th rehoming event.

The event took place at Oakhill, near Shepton Mallet.

Ex-commercial laying hens are typically sent to slaughter once they reach 18-months-old.

However, the British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) works with farmers to rescue and rehome as many as possible and its volunteers have operated in Somerset since 2008.

In Somerset the charity's team is headed up by co-ordinator Hayley Spencer, who has been volunteering for the charity for 10 years.

She said: “I started volunteering for the BHWT shortly after having my second child.

"Being a full-time mum to two very young children meant life was pretty crazy.

"But animal welfare had always been a big part of my life, so I applied for the role to help all the hens who deserved more than life in a commercial farm.

"I also volunteered to give me something to do outside my home where people would call me Hayley not ‘mummy’.”

Hayley said she knew when she first started volunteering that she would be in it for the long haul, and that it has been an honour to rehome tens of thousands of hens over the years.

She added: “I couldn’t have done any of this without all of the fabulous Somerset team who are now firm friends of mine and each other, and have made our team as successful as it is today."

To find out more about the charity, and rehoming your own flock of hens, visit www.bhwt.org.uk