A PENSIONER with a passion for pups has been putting her knitting skills to good use to keep dogs in the Vale warm this winter.

Ninety-three year old Doreen Emms, who lives at Salford House care home, near Harvington, has been knitting blankets all day, every day, for unwanted pets at the Dog's Trust in nearby Wickhamford.

So far Mrs Emms, who suffers with Macular Degeneration and is partially sighted, has made ten blankets.

Her daughter, Dreane Williams, said she is always on hand to pick up a stitch if her mum ever drops one.

"Mum used to knit clothes for the premature baby unit, and orphans in Romania, but since being diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, and being partially sighted, she now sits every day, knitting blankets for the Dog's Trust," she said.

"If she drops a stitch, someone, usually me, has to pick it up for her. As she says, just because their dogs, doesn't mean they have to have shoddy work.

"Winter is coming, and we all like a blanket to cuddle up to."

Mrs Williams is hoping to take her mum to the home in the coming weeks to see the blankets in use.