An animal rescue charity hoping to offset losses with a huge ‘Bric-a-Brac’ sale this weekend has been left disappointed after rain “ruined everything”.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: F.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19 Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMANF.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19 Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMAN (Image: Archant)

FAITH Animal Rescue, in Hickling, has had a rough time during the pandemic,

Bernadette Stubbings from Filby, who has been fundraising for the charity for 25 years, said: “It’s a bit depressing for animal rescue charities at the moment.

“We haven’t had much help during lockdown, and this Bric-a-Brac sale on October 10 was supposed to help reverse our fortunes.

“But the field where people park to come to the centre has become completely saturated as a result of the recent weather - and will take days to dry out.

YARD SALE CANCELLED We are gutted to say our yard sale which was scheduled for next weekend (10th &11th Oct) has had...

Posted by F.A.I.T.H. Animal Rescue on Saturday, 3 October 2020

“Hickling is a very wet place, and as a result of this rain, the sale has had to be cancelled. It’s ruined everything.”

Acccording to Ms Stubbings, however, the charity wants to “turn all this negativity into something positive”.

“Rather than just accept our fate, we’ve decided to launch a fundraiser for a new car park”, she said.

“If we had a car park where people could actually park - instead of their cars sinking down into the mud and having to be rescued by tractors - we could do way more fundraising.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: F.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19. Poppy. Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMANF.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19. Poppy. Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMAN (Image: Archant)

“The only thing is we need £20,000.”

Ms Stubbings, together with her friend Debbie Jones, has already raised £15,000 for the charity over lockdown by selling her animal-themed face masks.

Trevor Rawson from Bradwell, who recently ran the virtual London Marathon, has also raised £500 for the charity.

He said: “Animal charities don’t get the same attention that human-based charities get.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: F.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19 Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMANF.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19 Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMAN (Image: Archant)

“i’ve seen how FAITH has struggled over lockdown - so they seemed like the logical option for me.

“They do a great job in the area, and a lot of people I know who have rehomed dogs have done it through them.”

Back in June of this year, Judy Simmance, who runs the charity, said they were having to dip into emergency reserves to care for 80 cats and dogs and pay staff.Ms Stubbings said: “Staffing has been a huge issue over lockdown.

“We were supposed to have an in-house vetting service starting up this year too, but that’s had to be put on hold.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: F.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19 Rumer and Becky with Shear the Sheep. Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMANF.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19 Rumer and Becky with Shear the Sheep. Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMAN (Image: Archant)

“At least with this fundraiser, there is a defined target for us to work towards.”

Donate at www.gofundme.com/f/support-faith-during-covid19-lockdown

Great Yarmouth Mercury: F.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19 Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMANF.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19 Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMAN (Image: Archant)

Great Yarmouth Mercury: F.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19. Rumer and Becky with Penny and Cooper Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMANF.A.I.T.H Animal Sanctuary raising money to cope with COVID19. Rumer and Becky with Penny and Cooper Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMAN (Image: Archant)