A woman in Leeds has caused quite a furore after taking a huge sum of money for puppy deposits - then blocking customers when they asked where their dogs were.
Carey Sunderland from Tadcaster is accused of taking over £12,000 in deposits for puppies before blocking the customers who had transferred her the money.
A total of fiteen different families have come forward to claim they were victims of the scam, after sending money for the puppies and then hearing nothing back.
They said they were since blocked after messaging her to ask for updates on their dogs.
Mrs. Sunderland's two Hungarian Vizslas
Those who responded to Sunderland's advert say they paid between £200 and £500 each as a preliminary deposit, with the expectation that they would then come and collect their Hungarian Vizsla puppies once they'd had a good amount of time to socialise with their litter mates.
Months later, however, those who send money still say they are yet to hear anything back from the seller who seems to have disappeared into thin air.
A number have since joined forces through Facebook to fight back against the injustice, After comparing their experiences, they realised that they were not the only ones to be ignored after sending money.
In response, it's understood that the Sunderland family have since threatened to get the North Yorkshire Police involved - with Mrs. Sunderland's husband understood to have messaged some families claiming they were "harrassing" his wife.
The dog it was believed Mrs. Sunderland would breed the puppies from
Reportedly, he also claimed that his wife's bank account had been frozen before passing the blame back on to the families that have been. left out of pocket.
Reporting from Leeds Live suggests that only one person has received a deposit back so far, a David Bamford from Sheffield.
He told the paper that he was promised that he could have the first dog, only to discover that the same promise had been made multiple times elsewhere.
Others, meanwhile, continue to be out of pocket after having hopefully sent across money for the dogs.
Dog and puppy scams have been on the rise since the start of the Covid pandemic, with many people being scammed by traders.
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Leeds City Council granted £1.6m to tackle rough sleeping by Christmas
A £1.6m grant has been given by the government to Leeds City Council to help tackle rough sleeping.
The funding has been allocated to Leeds City Council as part of the Government’s national Rough Sleeping Programme.
The overall target is to help rough sleepovers off the streets by Christmas through providing safe accommodation.
The council have said that voluntary organisations and charities will be able to help them reach this target.
The council report said: "This funding will be used for immediate interventions to ensure all those rough sleeping have an offer of accommodation by Christmas and support longer term sustainment of accommodation.
“The initial target is to provide a suitable offer of accommodation for everyone who is rough sleeping by Christmas 2026.
“Providing a path into supported accommodation and independent living is the key objective and sustaining this independent living with, where necessary, ongoing support to prevent any return to rough sleeping and homelessness.”
The government announcement spoke of the scheme: "The programme is intended to support people experiencing rough sleeping.
"People experiencing rough sleeping may have differing entitlements to housing and support depending on their individual circumstances, including their immigration status and eligibility for public funds."
The funding is intended to help provide immediate support for people currently sleeping on the streets, while also helping them access longer-term accommodation and the support needed to maintain independent living.
By working with local charities and voluntary organisations, the council hopes to ensure people are not only offered a place to stay but are also given the help they need to avoid returning to the streets.
M&S launches massive recruitment drive in Leeds with hundreds of jobs available
Emily Sergeant
M&S has launched a massive recruitment drive across Yorkshire.
With the festive season fast approaching, and most British stores having already unveiled their Christmas ranges for 2026, one of the country’s largest brands has launched a massive UK-wide seasonal recruitment drives to gear up for what is always one of the busiest times of the year for the retail industry.
M&S has announced it will recruit for plenty of new colleagues across the UK.
As mentioned Christmas is one of the busiest moments of the year for M&S, and seasonal colleagues play a ‘vital’ part in delivering that.
Image: Supplied
New recruits will be tasked with helping M&S deliver a ‘brilliant’ service for customers.
Stores with vacancies span the whole of Leeds - including city centre, Moortown, Crown Point, White Rose Shopping Centre and Pudsey.
M&S says the roles are ‘fast-moving and hands-on’, with colleagues required to work together to make sure customers still get the very best of M&S, even at its busiest.
The roles will pay £13.41 per hour, with successful applicants receiving the training, tools and support needed to get up to speed quickly.
“We can’t wait to welcome over 300 new colleagues to our store teams here in Greater Manchester,” commented Zeba Khan, who is the Regional Manager at M&S.
“As we get ready for our busiest time of year, it’s a great opportunity to join us and help bring a magical M&S Christmas to our customers.
“We have a range of opportunities available, whether joining our city centre flagship or our fresh market-style foodhalls. We’re looking for colleagues who are passionate about delivering great customer service and being part of a team.”
Fancy it then? Applications are now open, and you can find out more and apply on the M&S Christmas careers page here.
Georgina Pellant -
7th August 2021 
