Generous roofer saves animal rescue shelter for free

Coppershell Animal rescue was struggling to find funds to replace its leaking barn roof

A roofer who fixed an rescue shelter's barn roof for free says he was inspired after meeting a worker in hospital who was "in agony, but was more concerned for her animals".

The team at Coppershell Animal rescue at Gastard in Wiltshire, were struggling to find £20,000 to replace their leaking barn roof.

Matt A'Court from the sanctuary said he was "extremely grateful" for the help.

Stuart Weston said donating his time and sourcing materials for free "seemed the right thing to do".

Mr Weston said he believed it was "the right thing to do"

"I don’t normally do this. I met the shelter's trustee Genna at the Royal United Hospital in Bath when my wife was rushed to hospital earlier this year," he said.

"She mentioned the barn roof needed fixing. She was in agony, but was more concerned about the animals than herself.

Mr Weston said stripping the old roof and installing the new panels on the barn took a week to complete.

"I've got a thing about Karma, I believe if you do something right for people it’ll come back to you.

The fixed roof means animals at the shelter now have a warm and dry place to stay during winter

"I once won £55,000 on a football bet after helping an old lady across the road."

Mr Weston has been back to visit the animal shelter three times since the repair and said he expects he will be friends with the team "for a long time".

Mr A'Court said the repair job was something the shelter "would never have been able to do" by itself.

"Or it would have taken us a long time to have raised that amount of money.

"It was a massive £20,000 job. All the animals really appreciated it," he added.