Brighton man rescues abandoned clothes horses

Sam Smith teaching yoga to some of the discarded clothes horses he has adopted

A man from East Sussex has revealed he has been running a sanctuary for discarded clothes horses.

Brighton support worker Sam Smith said he had "rehabilitated" 40 of the items after finding them dilapidated and dumped around the streets of his home town.

Having founded The Clothes Horse Sanctuary in 2016, the 32-year-old's hobby has since amassed him thousands of followers on TikTok.

"I hadn't long moved to Brighton when I clearly saw there was a problem of unwanted clothes horses being dumped on the streets," said Sam.

"So I started rescuing them one at a time, bringing each back to my small flat in order to fix them.

"But pretty soon my pad got filled up with my rescues and I realised I had more than I could possibly repair."

So he set up the sanctuary - some nearby stables belonging to a friend - where he tends to the broken before setting them off on a new life of drying and airing.

A clothes horse drinks from a water trough at the sanctuary

Adding that a little love "goes a long way", he revealed he currently has 38 in his care - all of which have been given names.

"I did have 37, but found the latest one last night behind the gym, of all places," he said.

"In fact, I've found them all over Brighton, in skips, bins, even in trees."

However, there is a serious message behind Sam's work, namely the blight of environmental waste and how more people should make-do-and-mend rather than simply throw things away.

"People can also sponsor or adopt a clothes horse from us if they like," he added.

"But, while some really want to get back out there with a new family, others would rather stay at the sanctuary and enjoy the easy life."