Pen Farthing and his rescue dogs BLOCKED from Kabul airport by Taliban

The Taliban have blocked former Royal Marine Pen Farthing and his rescue animals from reaching Kabul airport.

The 57-year-old claims his 173 cats and dogs will die from the heat if they are not taken out of their travel crates soon.

Mr Farthing earlier sent a direct tweet to Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, urging him to let his team and animals through to the airport.

The animal rescue charity founder added that they had been waiting for 10 hours and had previously been assured safe passage.

It comes after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace last night privately admitted UK forces have been “diverted” by Mr Farthing’s animal airlift bid.

Mr Farthing today tweeted: "Dear Sir; my team & my animals are stuck at airport circle. We have a flight waiting. Can you please facilitate safe passage into the airport for our convoy? @suhailshaheen1

Mr Farthing has been urging Boris Johnson to evacuate him and the staff and animals at his charity ( PA)

"We are an NGO who will come back to Afghanistan but right now I want to get everyone out safely.

"We have been here for 10 hours after being assured that we would have safe passage. Truly would like to go home now. Let’s prove the IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) are taking a different path."

Mr Farthing joined 25 members of staff and their families in a midnight dash to Kabul airport last night.

He bought two trucks and loaded them with food and supplies in preparation for delays before boarding a plane out.

They were stopped at a Taliban checkpoint last night, with one of the fighters accidentally shooting just above the group's heads, The Sun reports.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he would not put pets before people ( Sky News)

Mr Farthing said his party was held for around an hour before being allowed to resume their journey to the airport.

They finally arrived at 2am local time, however they have still not been allowed through.

The former soldier told The Sun: "We’ve got hours now before animals start dying."

Mr Farthing's team have parked their trucks in the shade and are spraying the animal crates with water to keep their pets cool.

"There are some in the middle we can’t reach and we can’t start unloading them because it will attract too much attention," he added.

"It is getting really desperate. We are appealing directly to the Taliban to let us through. We have permission to leave."

It comes after Boris Johnson reportedly overruled Mr Wallace - who said Mr Farthing would be given a chance to fly out his animals in a 1.30am U-turn on Wednesday.

The UK's evacuation mission is coming to a close in Kabul ( PA)

But Mr Wallace privately told MPs he was sorry to say the saga had tied up the time of Britain's people on the ground in Kabul.

Questions were also raised by MPs on the call about the flight’s status and when it might actually arrive.

Labour Shadow Foreign Office Minister Stephen Kinnock told Sky News: “Ben Wallace said we should not be putting pets before people and I have to say I agree with every word of that statement.

“I think Mr Farthing had the opportunity as a British citizen to leave last week on a plane and… this issue with this convoy he has now with pets, dogs, etc, if it’s blocking the runway in a way that’s not allowing human beings to escape from Afghanistan, that is problematic.”

Mr Farthing previously vowed to stay in Afghanistan with his animals and staff until they are all evacuated.

Pen Farthing has raised more than £200,000 to charter a plane to evacuate his staff and animals ( PA)

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He has raised more than £200,000 to get his workers out on a charter flight - with more than 100 animals in the cargo hold.

Mr Farthing runs the Nowzad animal charity, which has shelters for more than 140 dogs and 40 cats as well as Afghanistan’s first donkey sanctuary.

Earlier, a Nowzad supporter in the UK, veterinary surgeon Dr Iain McGill, had said people were ready to take in the animals once brought to Britain.

"Pen has got transport for all the staff and animals and himself safely to the airport," Dr McGill told the PA news agency.

"In the airport they can wait for a few days until the plane arrives, they just need to get safe. Pen doesn't have that long a window because of the military operation."

The UK's evacuation mission is coming to a close and could end as soon as today.

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