Hay donations 'incredible', says struggling farm

A charity farm attraction in Leicester that appealed for help dealing with a shortage of hay says the public response has been "the equivalent of winning the hay lottery".

Gorse Hill City Farm in Anstey Lane said last week it could be forced to close because it was struggling to get enough hay to feed more than 100 animals.

But now an online donation page has raised over £8,500, while a handful of farmers have delivered and donated physical bales of hay.

Farm manager Dayle Lefort said the donations had been heartwarming and would help the farm operate until at least "the beginning of March".

A donation of 10 bales came from retired water treatment worker Steve Dobson, from West Hallam, Derbyshire, who had grown it to feed alpacas.

He said he had not heard of Gorse Hill City Farm until he watched a report about its hay shortage on BBC East Midlands Today on Sunday.

By Monday, he was down delivering his excess and unused hay.

"I'm blessed in that it's a hobby for me, so I don't have to make a living from it like the farmers, so it was a very easy decision to make a donation," he said.

Lefort said he and his farm team can now "breathe a sigh of relief" that the animals are getting fed.

"That hay will literally be fed to the animals tonight, so it's straight in and then straight into [the animal's] stomachs."

The shortages had a personal effect on Lefort, who had been stressed and losing sleep over the farm's situation, but he said he was sleeping better now.

"But due to our footfall, we're still not out of the woods yet," he added.

"The continued support is amazing, and we just hope it keeps continuing."

Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.