Owners are being urged to get their dogs microchipped

The Dogs Trust (DT) - formerly the National Canine Defence League - said the increase bucks a downward trend across the rest of the UK.

According to the trust's report there was one stray dog for every 387 people, which is "significantly worse" than the one for every 539 people nationwide.

However, despite the increase in 2003 meaning there are 16,239 dogs on the streets in the region, the number of destructions of dogs has gone down by 17% .

Clarissa Baldwin, DT chief executive, said she was "extremely disappointed" with the rise in the number of strays.

"This is especially sad as the figures appeared to be decreasing in 2002," she said.

Reunions increased

"Nationally the picture is a lot brighter with the number of strays reaching an all-time low pf 110,016.

"The positive news is the numbers of dogs being put to sleep in the North West has decreased, but we still want to work towards bringing this figure down to absolute zero."

The report also notes that nationally 6,873 dogs - an increase of 230 - were reunited with their owners and dog welfare organisations have reported a 28% decrease in the numbers of dogs passed to them.

The trust said schemes, with the trust working with local councils, to get dogs microchipped were leading to improvements.

Barbara Goodwill, animal warden for Burnley, said: "The microchipping scheme we have with the trust has resulted in dogs being identified that would have been destroyed."

She advised owners to get their dogs neutered to ensure there are no unwanted litters.