Three puppies were abandoned in a street just days before Christmas.

A dog walker spotted the animals being dumped from a large car in Balmoral Drive, Borehamwood on December 23 at around 6pm.

Fortunately the dog walker was able to round up the puppies before they could run loose, as the driver of the car drove away.

The male puppies; now named Noel, Cracker, and Spud, who are thought to be aged between eight and 12 months, are currently in the care of the RSPCA at Putney Animal Hospital in south west London.

The breed of the dogs is not known, but it is thought that they are possibly a cocker spaniel/Labrador retriever cross.

It is also believed they may have come from a puppy farm.

Caroline Allen, RSPCA London veterinary director, said: “The dogs are very skinny and have some diarrhoea, which we are treating. They probably haven’t been fed properly or been treated for worms. We have now started all the required preventative treatments.

“They are also untrained and not used to playing with toys, which is a clear indicator they have had limited human contact, but fortunately they are very friendly. They are being cared for by our hospital staff at the moment and will eventually be moved to one of our centres where they will be assessed and trained in preparation of being rehomed at a later date.

RSPCA inspector Dale Grant, who collected the pups, said: “We are extremely grateful to the dog-walker who managed to round the dogs up and keep them safe until we arrived. As they were just abandoned on a road and could have easily run into the path of an oncoming vehicle. Thankfully, given the time of year, there was less traffic in the area, but it was still a very reckless thing to do.

“I would appeal to anyone who has any information who may have owned these pups, or who saw them being abandoned to contact me on the RSPCA inspectorate appeal number 0300 123 8018.”