FUNDRAISERS have handed over a cheque for £1,000 to animal charity the Donkey Sanctuary, near Sidmouth in Devon, after a successful yard sale in Old Town last month.

Yasmin Fattori, who has been teaching yoga for the past for 20 years, hosted the sale at the Community Centre at Christ Church where she runs her ‘Yoga with Yasmin’ class.

Thanks to generous donations from the public, earlier this month Yasmin was able to present volunteers from the Donkey Sanctuary with a cheque for £1,000.

She said: “Everyone was really pleased because it’s a fantastic sum of money.

“For the past few years we have held the yard sale for the donkeys in our garden and this year was the first time we had done any fundraising at Christ Church. It was a great event with everybody joining in and supporting it.

“It spurred us on to do more and on the August bank holiday we’re doing another fundraiser and we urge people to come along.”

The Donkey Sanctuary, which was founded in 1969 to protect and care for donkeys and mules, describes its mission as creating a world in which the animals live free from suffering and hardship.

It has been Yasmin’s designated charity for the past three years and she describes it as “a pleasure to support them and the wonderful work they do”.

A spokesman for the sanctuary said: “Volunteers are the backbone of the work we do here and we’re very grateful to people for giving us their time and support.

"Yasmin has done a lot for us in the past and it’ll be great to see what she does next.”

Yasmin’s next fundraising event – ‘From Bhakti to Shakti’, which literally means a joyful fusion of yoga and dance – takes place on Monday August 29 at the Community Centre at Christ Church.

It costs £10 on the door or £8 when booked in advance and runs from 10am until midday, with all proceedings going to the Donkey Sanctuary.

She said: “All proceeds from the Day will go to the Donkey Sanctuary and we hope to have a couple of Donkeys in attendance, too.”

She suggests booking in advance to avoid disappointment.