WILDLIFE emergency service Oak and Furrows has issued a desperate plea for support, after a rising number of sick animals left a "catastrophic effect" upon the charity's finances.

Chairman of the rescue centre's trustees Robin Thompson said the charity was now facing one of its biggest challenges in its 24-year history. It has even had to lose two members of its staff.

The call for help comes after the centre, which is based near the Blakehill Nature Reserve at Leigh, revealed they were receiving up to 40 calls a day for advice and assistance as well as follow-up calls for sick animals already booked in.

Mr Thompson said: "In simple terms, the massive increase in the number of "patients" between April and September in the last three years has had a catastrophic effect upon the charity's finances, which we are all determined to overcome as quickly as possible."

The centre takes in wildlife in need from members of the public, vets and the RSPCA and provide the necessary care, treatment and rehabilitation required to return them to the wild. The average cost per creature is estimated at more than £35 to cover the vet fees, ambulance costs, feed and the time spent caring for them

Mr Thompson took to the charity's Facebook page yesterday to issue the plea for funds - the same day a major fundraiser had been scheduled to take place. But the plug had to be pulled on the event, planned at De Vere Cotswold Hotel, at the end of last month after only 14 tickets were sold.

The music and big buffet dinner was arranged to secure much needed funds due to a rise in wildlife care, from 3,000 patients in 2015 to 5,300 in the past 15 months.

Mr Thompson said: “We are devastated but plan to re-launch the event within the next six months. The De Vere management team has given us great support in enabling us to do this and we are extremely grateful to them.

"We are also grateful to our music acts, the Sapphires ladies quartet, Cirencester’s Elvis Presley, singer Andy Hughes and compere Mark Cummings from BBC Radio Gloucestershire for their great understanding of the problem we faced and have promised to support us in the future.

"We were already planning a major event next March and it is possible we will merge the two events to create a huge attraction to secure desperately needed funds."

The charity is now focusing its attention on a Christmas fayre at Cricklade Methodist Church hall, from 10am to 3pm on December 2, as well as four fundraising quizzes in pubs at Siddington, Cirencester, and around Swindon, but has urged the public to help them with donations or organising other fundraising events.

Mr Thompson added: "We hope to purchase food and medication with two other wildlife charities, to achieve better buying rates.

"We have put on hold the purchase of some important equipment. However, we would like to thank Nationwide Building Society for raising sufficient funds to purchase an incinerator - at present the materials used during care are collected from a skip by a contractor at £1,000 per month."

To make a donation call 01793 751412 or make a donation online at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/oak-and-furrows-local-wildlife-charity