After failing to find homes for several handsome cockerels a chicken charity decided to take matters into their own hands - and set up a lonely hearts page for the unloved birds.

The British Hen Welfare Trust were inundated with calls from people trying to find homes for cockerels, but the charity were unable to help.

Despite their best efforts they were unable to find anyone who would take in the birds, despite their ample plumage and striking personalities.

So the charity decided to set up a new system, and started advertising their cockerels on a lonely-hearts page on their website.

Currently there are 13 lonely birds, including a Booted Bantam, a Gold Laced Orpington and a pair of gold laced Polish cockerels, all looking for a loving home.

For a small donation of just £3 anyone looking to rehome a cockerel can post a photo and all relevant information about their bird, which will be included on the page.

Jane Howorth MBE, charity founder, said: "We love all poultry here at the BHWT and know that many cockerels struggle to find a home, which is why we set up our cockerel lonely hearts page.

“The charity isn’t a sanctuary for poultry and we focus solely on the re-homing of end of lay commercial hens, but we felt it might be helpful to try to find these chaps somewhere they can live with a flock of hens as nature intended."

A spokesperson for the BHWT said: "We knew there was a need for it because people would call us saying they needed a cockerel rehomed but we didn't know what to do.

"We only started it a few months ago and we have some great success stories, we've managed to rehome about five cockerels in the last few months.

"We're getting a lot of calls from people asking about the service we offer, we tell them we have a dedicated system for it.

"As far as we're aware its a completely unique service, it lets people liaise with each other, there's no middle man."

What do you think about the lonely hearts page for unloved cockerels, would you take one home? Let us know on our Facebook page, don't forget to give us a like!

For more information on the British Hen Welfare Trust please visit BHWT.org.uk