THE owner of a wildlife organisation which is set to close this week says she hopes she can start a registered charity to help educate children about animals.

Annette Pyrah set up Selby Wildlife in 2012, initially running it from her conservatory, and has been taking in a wide variety of sick and injured animals since then, but the charity will close this week while she works on a plan to present to the charities commission. This week, a member of the public brought an injured hedgehog to Selby Wildlife, after rescuing it from abuse at the feet of a group of children.

Annette said: “The little hedgehog was rescued from a car park in Barlby near to the village shop. An elderly man and his disabled wife rescued it from boys who shouted over to the old man, ‘hey mister, where are you taking our football?’ “The elderly couple were quite frightened and very worried for the hedgehog so picked it up and brought it to me.

“Thankfully the little female isn’t pregnant or feeding babies, which itself is a great relief, although she is very poorly.

“As hedgehogs are declining at the same rate as tigers, we could well do without children treating them is such horrific and cruel ways.”

Annette said she now planned to close her organisation temporarily while she worked towards a relaunch as a registered charity, which she wanted to run alongside an educational centre to teach children more about respecting and looking after animals.

She said: “I’ve been trying to split myself three ways, looking after the animals, raising funds to pay for them by attending events, and writing a plan for the commission, but I can only do so much.

“The plan is to become a registered charity, just to have time to sit down and have a plan to put forward to the Charities Commission and raise funds to buy a dedicated centre away from my home and employ some other people.”