Cost of living: Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue centre saved

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Two pictures, one of a woman holding an injured swan and another of a man holding a pigeonImage source, CLEETHORPES WILDLIFE RESCUE
Image caption,

Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue is run by Linda Bass and Aaron Goss

A wildlife rescue charity facing closure due to rising costs has been saved after to a fundraising campaign.

Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue said it had been hit hard by the increased price of feed, petrol and energy, coupled with a fall in donations.

The centre closed to new cases on 29 June but on Wednesday said it planned to reopen within a month after a "truly unexpected" response from the public.

Staff at the centre said they had been "overwhelmed by the support".

Image source, CLEETHORPES WILDLIFE RESCUE
Image caption,

The charity cares for wild animals including this swan which was rescued after a suspected chemical spill

Announcing the closure plans last week, the centre said it had seen "huge increases" in running costs, with feed prices rising by up to 90% and petrol prices going "through the roof".

It estimated the cost of staying open each month could be as much as £4,000.

However, following a surge in donations the centre said it had "nearly enough monthly funds to prevent permanent closure of our rescue".

Volunteer Aaron Goss told BBC Radio Humberside he had expected it to take six months to raise the money.

"We have had a lot of one off donations, which is brilliant in itself, but also a lot of people setting up even £2-a-month donations, which will help us in the long term," he said.

"The earliest date that we are looking to reopen is 20 July. Then we will be back to normal service as we were prior to this, accepting all injured animals and doing all the vet trips."

He said the charity needs small regular donations to keep going as they fear they could otherwise find themselves in the same financial situation again.

"People have been brilliant. We are not too far off, the end is in sight hopefully," he said.

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