The volunteers rescuing wildlife with Brian May

Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue counts Queen guitarist Brian May among its supporters

A Surrey wildlife charity is raising money to keep its animal hospital running.

Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue, headquartered at land owned by Queen guitarist Brian May near Windlesham, has been saving injured animals for over 30 years.

Anne Brummer started the organisation after rescuing a hedgehog stuck in a chain link fence, and it has grown to have nearly 50 active volunteers, including their rock star host.

"We now have full-time vets with us but that comes at a massive cost," she said.

The group's dedicated wildlife hospital has been operating since 2019.

Ms Brummer said: "It's worth it because the animals that come in get the best treatment at the vital time when they need it."

In addition to providing space at his property and supporting the group's campaigns, Mr May gets involved in looking after the animals.

"Guitarists aren't much use to the rescue, so to us he is a worker," Ms Brummer said.

"He is very good at communicating with people and gets involved in it at every level."

The charity rescues animals including foxes, badgers, and hedgehogs

The charity looks after foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, deer, or "anything that's in the UK that's wildlife".

"We can have any one of 750 animals come in through the door, and it's like a procession of aliens really. There's not a lot of data out there on them so the vets are using all their expertise," Ms Brummer said.

She added: "We are trying to raise funds to get more equipment in the surgery, and to also get together a database so that we can store all this data for other people to access."

Anne Brummer started the charity more than 30 years ago

The charity's costs include medication, equipment maintenance, and insurance.

"We are constantly striving to get more equipment," Ms Brummer said.

She added that the hospital "is constantly accident and emergency" while vets for domestic pets can deal with pre-arranged, routine appointments.

The charity sometimes finds itself in the "absolutely heart-breaking" situation of having to turn away animals because it has reached full capacity.

The flipside to this, Ms Brummer said, was the "most amazing feeling" of releasing animals back to the wild after they have recovered.

In addition to its rescue work the charity runs the Save Me Trust, campaigning for changes to the law.