Damage appeal sees £20k raised for animal centre

More than £20,000 has been raised towards repairs at an animal sanctuary which was badly damaged by falling snow during Storm Goretti.

Five large enclosures at Brockswood Animal Sanctuary in Sedgley, in the West Midlands, collapsed under the weight of the snow and a duck was killed.

The sanctuary team said the response from the community had been "overwhelming".

"This place is in the heart of so many people round here. We have had hundreds and hundreds of messages of goodwill and offers of help," fundraiser organiser Neil Swann said.

"We've had a lady who runs a cattery [who] has offered us all her old cattery pens, that she was going to sell, for us to use as temporary emergency pens while we rebuild all of this.

"Such a phenomenal amount of help."

Staff at the sanctuary, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025, said they were facing one of the darkest moments in their history last week.

Overall, the team is hoping to raise £30,000 to completely restore the site after the storm after what they have described as a "tough weekend".

In the meantime, the animals displaced by the damage, including the ducks, chickens and geese, have been moved elsewhere at the site.

Locals people have been coming to the site to help clear the debris and professional builders have been offering help too, staff said.

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