Around 600 cats stuffed into wooden crates and destined for dinner plates in southern China have been rescued by animal protection volunteers after a truck crash.

Xu Chenxin from the Changsha Small Animal Protection Association says volunteers hauled the felines from the lorry on Monday after the accident in the central city of Changsha

He says about another 100 cats were already dead after being left out in the cold for more than 24 hours. More had already escaped.

Mr Xu says the cats were "clearly" due to be served as food in southern China.