Liz Coates AN animal lover has been forced to shut one of her fund-raising shops - but has assured that her other high street outlet that helps animals in Greece is safe.

Liz Coates

AN animal lover has been forced to shut one of her fund-raising shops - but has assured that her other high street outlet that helps animals in Greece is safe.

Rosemary Good said a combination of cancer and unreliable volunteers had led to her decision to close her shop opposite Wilkinsons in Gorleston High Street, just months after it opened.

The shop which has provided funding for Foxy Lodge wildlife hospital in Hemsby is poised to shut on February 4.

Meanwhile her other shop, Friends of Animals, opposite Gorleston library which has raised �86,000 in 10 years to help stray dogs in Greece will continue, she said.

Mrs Good, 59, said it had been a difficult decision to make, particularly since it was helping a local organisation, but that her returning cancer had forced her hand. Added to her troubles was the difficulty of finding reliable volunteers who sometimes let her down at the last minute - and there was still the rent to pay.

“I really wanted to support the local charity at Foxy Lodge where it costs about �100 a week just to feed the hedgehogs and wild animals. We have donated quite a lot of cat food so they have enough to keep them going for a while.

“My cancer has come back in both lungs and volunteers have been letting me down. It has just been a nightmare but it is such a shame.”

Mrs Good recovered from breast cancer following a mastectomy but was told recently it had returned.

Any food, and particularly blankets for horses, can still be donated at the Friends of Animals shop. Any inquiries please phone 01493 443081 or 780644.