Animal haven in financial crisis

The centre cares for more than 150 birds and animals

A wildlife haven in Northumberland may be forced to close because of a downturn in donations and visitors.

Owners of the Sanctuary Wildlife Care Centre near Morpeth said they were having to turn animals away.

The centre, which currently cares for 157 animals and birds including pigs, badgers, donkeys and owls, has a monthly food bill of £17,000.

Joint owner of the centre at Ulgham, Kim Olson, said visitor numbers had also been affected by the bad weather.

The centre Centre was set up in 1993 in Alnwick when the owners, Ms Olson and Allan Pettersson, returned to Northumberland after studying wildlife management and working in a game sanctuary in Tanzania.

It receives about 1,000 animals - many injured - a year and aims to release them back into the wild eventually.

The centre, which relies on donations from visitors, is currently based in a once-derelict 18th Century farmhouse near Morpeth.

Ms Olson said: "We care a lot, but if we continue to just take in and take in animals this place will close. It is as simple as that.

"We have a responsibility to feed and care for the animals we have now."