The calendar features greyhounds which have been rescued

The "Long Legged Beauties" calendar was the brainchild of Stuart and Jenny Stott, from Witherslack, in Cumbria.

They are members of the Dumfriesshire Greyhound Rescue charity, which rehomes greyhounds from Cumbria, south west Scotland and North Lancashire.

It works to find new homes for greyhounds to prevent them being put down at the end of their racing lives.

Mr Stott said: "The long legged beauties are of course the greyhounds. They are beautiful animals.

The more people who know what good pets they make the more homes we will be able to get for the dog Arthur Robinson

"The whole idea behind involving the models in this calendar is to help us reach a wider audience.

"We want to show people just what great pets greyhounds can be and also make existing owners of racing dogs more aware that rescue centres are able to find new homes for the animals."

Annette Crosby, who starred in the Calendar Girls film and One Foot in the Grave, is supporting the calendar with �1 from every sale going to charity.

The greyhounds in the calendar include the couple's own pets as well as dogs they have successfully rehomed over the last year.

'Needed publicity'

More than 70 models applied to take part in the project.

The charity has found homes for nearly 200 dogs since it was set up in 2001.

Chairman Arthur Robinson said: "It will give some much needed publicity to the plight of greyhounds.

"The more people who know what good pets they make the more homes we will be able to get for the dogs."