Staff from Pen Farthing’s animal shelter successfully evacuated to Pakistan

Pen Farthing says the rescue of his staff an animals was ‘mind blowing’ (Picture: Pen Farthing)

Staff who worked with former Royal Marine Pen Farthing at his Kabul animal shelter have successfully been evacuated to Pakistan.

The Nowzad founder said he was ‘so bloody happy’ that his staff have made it out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Dogs and cats that were being cared for by the charity were flown out of the country on one of the last British-run flights last month.

The staff had stayed behind to make it easier for the animals to be rescued, raising fears for their safety after all NATO troops were pulled out.

Employees had been given permission to travel by the UK Government but were scuppered in their efforts to get out amid chaotic scenes at the airport.

Mr Farthing tweeted that his Operation Ark campaign to get all workers and animals out of the country has now been ‘a complete success’.

Mr Farthing said the Nowzad staff are ‘now safely in Islamabad and in the care of the British High Commission! I am so bloody happy right now!’.

He said: ‘This is absolutely mind-blowing. It has still not really sunk in.’

Mr Farthing shared this picture of staff and their families in Pakistan (Picture: Pen Farthing)

Mr Farthing said he had seen pictures of the staff after their arrival and the smiles on their faces ‘just tells you everything you need to know’.

The campaign captured huge amounts of public support, including well-known celebrities such as Ricky Gervais.

But Mr Farthing clashed with representatives of the Government, who said he was taking up too much of the officials’ time as they desperately tried to evacuate people who had helped the Western-backed regime.

Farthing, a former marine, has worked to rescue dogs and cats from Afghanistan (Picture: PA)

Mr Farthing also apologised for leaving an expletive-laden message for a Government aide as he was trying to carry out the evacuation.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted: ‘Pleased that Nowzad’s Afghan staff, who were called for evacuation, successfully crossed the border into Pakistan today. Our @ukinpakistan staff are assisting them and we look forward to welcoming them to the UK in the coming days.’

It’s thought there were 68 Nowzad animal shelter staff and family members evacuated, including 25 children and one newborn baby.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.