A RESCUE centre which takes in more than a thousand wild animals a year in North Yorkshire is in urgent need of fundraising volunteers.

The Wildlife Haven in Thirsk has running costs of hundreds of pounds a week and relies on donations to rescue and care for the wild animals brought in.

It was set up by Krista Langley and her daughter Lauren at their home in Thirsk in 2008.

Krista has a background in nursing and Lauren has been helping her mother since she was eight, giving her 15 years’ experience of animal rescue. Since then they have cared for thousands of animals from across the region.

At any one time the shelter can be rehabilitating deer, foxes, owls, stoats, squirrels, swans, hedgehogs, voles, shrews, bats or any other number of injured, sick or orphaned animals. The animals are released back into the wild as soon as they are able to survive independently.

The shelter has a number of long-term projects, such as raising money for a wildlife rescue ambulance, and £5,000 has already been pledged and the shelter needs to raise £5,000 in match funding.

But it has high running costs associated with feeding and treating the large variety of animals it takes in.

It costs the shelter £100 just to look after an underweight hedgehog over winter and £45 to feed an otter cub for just one week.

Lauren Langley said: “This is the season when we get aerial feeders such as house martins, swallows and swifts. They need to be fed live food - live worms and crickets - but they don’t eat earthworms, so we have to order wax worms in. In one week we can spend up to £400 on worms alone.’’

For more information visit thewildlifehaven.org or contact the centre on 01845-526567 or 07772-871833.