A guinea pig has been rescued after it was left dumped in a cardboard box in the toilets of a shopping centre in Bexley.

The RSPCA is appealing for information after the tri-coloured pet was flushed out by its owner in the toilets at the Broadway Shopping Centre.

The security team took the guinea pig, dubbed ‘Louie’ in and kept him safe in their offices until the RSPCA arrived to take him away.

Inspector Nick Wheelhouse took Louie to the RSPCA Putney Animal Hospital.

Mr Wheelhouse said: “It is lucky that someone spotted this box and checked inside, if not who knows how long this little one would have been left there.

“To dump an animal anywhere is just inexcusable and anything could have happened to them. It just makes me so cross that people think it is okay to dump an animal just because they don’t want it anymore.”

Anyone with any information about who may have owned the guinea pig should call the RSPCA’s inspector appeal line on 0300 123 8018 and leave a message for Inspector Wheelhouse.

The RSPCA receive thousands of calls a year about abandoned animals.