THE small animal charity that will benefit from the sale of the Chaplin twins' Tang Hall home says the money will support Freda's bereaved pet cat and help towards vet bills.

Freda left the bulk of her £177k estate to the Cinnamon Trust, the national charity for the elderly, the terminally ill and their pets, which has Sir Paul McCartney as its patron.

It is understood that Freda, who died in May aged 77, chose the charity because she wanted to ensure her cat Molly would be looked after following her death.

The charity had already helped Freda with her pet dog Jim.

According to her will, Freda, a dedicated animal lover, left the bulk of her estate - largely her £175,000 two-bedroom semi - to the Cinnamon Trust, which looks after the pets of the elderly and those with terminal health conditions.

She specified that any pets that outlived her should be placed in the care of the charity.

Averil Jarvis, founder and chief executive of the charity, said she was "touched" by Freda's gift and revealed how the money would be spent.

She told The Press: “I am very touched by Freda’s gift. It was always a joy to help her with Jim, her lovely little Bichon Frise, until he passed away aged 18.

" We now have Molly, her very sweet little cat, in lifelong care with a family who adore her.

"We will use Freda’s legacy to support Molly for the rest of her life and to help with our veterinary fees for all our 1,200 lifelong pets.

Our vets’ fees last year were £810,000."

Read more: Famous York twin reveals final wishes in her will

Freda was well known in York and across the world as one half of the Chaplin twins. She and her sister Greta, who died in 2007 aged 64, were the subject of media stories and documentary films.

Following her death Freda was buried alongside her sister at Fulford Cemetery.

Freda also left several other gifts to animal charities in her will including:

* £1,000 to The Donkey Sanctuary of Sidmouth, Devon

* £1,000 to Caring for Cats Homing Centre in Market Weighton

* £500 to WSPA, (World Society for the Protection of Animals), London

* £500 to the Badger Trust

* £500 to the RSPCA.

Freda's solicitor Belinda Poulter of Crombie Wilkinson in York said Freda especially wanted to find a charity that would take in her animals following her death and so chose the Cinnamon Trust which is based in Cornwall but has volunteers across the country.

She said: "The Cinnamon Trust are a charity that re-homes animals if their owners are deceased or has them fostered if they are in hospital etc long-term. They have volunteers nationally who foster the animals, re-house them and even take dogs, for example, for walks if an owner cannot."

She added that the sale of Freda's home in Tang Hall - a two-bed semi that was on the market with Ashtons priced at £175,000 - was progressing.

And she said: "The proceeds from the house will go into the estate firstly to pay the other cash legacies to the other animal charities and then what is left over will pass to the Cinnamon Trust.

"Freda had registered her animals with the Cinnamon Trust and after her death, they arranged for Molly to be fostered and then re-homed."

The Cinnamon Trust is the only specialist national charity for people in their last years and their pets. It has a network of 17,000 volunteers who support pet owners to provide vital loving care for their pets. The aim is to keep owner and pet together – for example, by walking a dog every day for a housebound owner, fostering pets when owners need hospital care, fetching food or doing chores such as cleaning out the bird cage.

When staying at home is no longer an option, its Pet Friendly Care Home Register lists care homes and retirement housing happy to accept residents with pets, and providing previous arrangements have been made, the charity will also take on life-time care of a bereaved pet.

It helps more than 150,000 people a year with 157,977 animals and runs two home-from-home sanctuaries.

Its patrons are Virginia McKenna and Sir Paul McCartney.

Find out more at: cinnamon.org.uk