Expansion plan for wildlife sanctuary which began in home of a Yorkshire schoolteacher

Alexandra Farmer, the owner of Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary, started taking in animals from a blind owl to a three-legged fox, rehabilitating them before releasing them into the wild.

But over time, as her reputation grew, she had to give up her job to run it as a full-time charity with the support of volunteers.

Now, with hundreds more rescued animals coming in every year, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to fund a £120,000 specialist wildlife hospital and education centre.

“We have been granted planning permission for a dedicated wildlife hospital, which is very exciting news for us,” she said. “We already admit over 2,100 rescues every year, the charity is ever expanding and the number of casualties ever increasing. We expect this year to be another record for rescues.

“Luckily we do have the land for aviaries and enclosures but it is getting increasingly difficult to accommodate rescues from home. They need their own building.”

More than £4,000 has already been raised through the JustGiving fundraising appeal.