Donkey Sanctuary charity facing four centre closures

The Donkey Sanctuary in Leeds (pictured) is among four centres which may be forced to close

A national donkey charity could be forced to close four of its centres to cope with rising costs.

The Donkey Sanctuary is proposing to shut its bases in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, and Ivybridge in Devon.

Its Northern Ireland centre in Belfast could downsize to become a small sanctuary and rehoming facility as part of the plans.

A charity spokesperson said the impacted centres would shut to visitors while a consultation took place.

"Like many other charities and businesses we face rising costs, and must adapt if we are to continue making the biggest possible difference with our available resources," the charity said.

"We are proposing these changes in order to make best use of our donors' money and to ensure we continue to achieve our core mission of improving the welfare of donkeys in the UK and around the world."

The charity was founded more than 50 years ago to help abused or homeless donkeys

The Donkey Sanctuary, which is headquartered in Sidmouth, Devon, said it was "confident" all donkeys could be safely relocated to new homes should closures go ahead.

The charity was founded in 1969 by Dr Elisabeth Svendsen in Devon to help abused or homeless animals.

Since then, it has cared for about 20,000 donkeys and established farms and sanctuaries around England and Northern Ireland.