A WOMAN who has dedicated more than 30 years of her life to rescuing horses is desperately calling for help.

The Essex Horse and Pony Protection Society, based in Pitsea, is facing closure due to a lack of funds to cover its increasing costs.

The centre is inundated with calls on a daily basis, including pleas to take unwanted horses in, which is now simply not possible.

Volunteers are often met with aggressive callers when it is explained to them that it is not a re-homing centre, but a rescue centre.

Society chairman, Sue Allery, is now appealing for each of the society’s 11,000 followers on Facebook to donate £1.

She said: “I have been fighting for 30 years and it would be over my dead body that we close down, but we are currently in an dire situation.

“We are are struggling to survive. So many people request our services.

“We are a rescue centre for horses that have been subjected to abuse, cruelty and neglect – we are not a retirement home.

“With rescues alone, we struggle but we soldier on with fundraising events throughout the year – some successful, some not.

“We are picking up the pieces of what humans have done to animals.”

Centre bosses are waiting for a gift from a benefactor who has died, but the process is taking some time.

It is vital for the centre to get funds immediately to cover the costs of rent, the lease, water bills, vet bills, food bills and staff.

She added: “We need hard cash now. We need support. Our services are constantly in demand.

“We pay some staff as we need certain people to know what they are doing, but we have so many volunteers who check on horses in all weathers – it’s far from glamorous.”

There are currently 60 horses at the centre, many of which cannot be rehomed due to their mental issues, which were developed as a result of mistreatment.

Donations can be made via Paypal to administrator@ehpps.org.uk or bank transfer.

For more information call 01268 584603 or visit the society’s Facebook page.