AN animal-loving Clitheroe woman who died two years ago, has left tens of thousands of pounds to animal charities.

Seventy-year-old Eunice Coleman, who died in November 2000, shared part of her estate of £1,047,452 between charities including the RSPCA, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the RSPB and the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals.

She left £10,000 each to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the RSPCA, the RSPB, and the British Diabetic Association, and £5,000 each to the PDSA, the Born Free Foundation, Care for the Wild, the Donkey Sanctuary, English Heritage, the Arthritis Research Campaign, the British Heart Foundation and the Council for the Preservation of Rural England.

Liberty, The People's Trust for Endangered Species and Greenpeace each received £1,000.

Eunice, who was cremated at Accrington Crematorium on November 12, 2000, was the owner of the Croft Nursing Home in Whalley, which closed after her death.

Dawn Scendson, from the Donkey Sanctuary, said Eunice had been a supporter for some time and had been sending regular donations since 1991

She had adopted a donkey, Megan, under the charity's sister organisation which offers riding therapy to children with special needs.

Dawn said: "The money she has left us will go towards the general funds. It is thanks to people like Eunice that we are in existence.

"More than 60 per cent of our funding comes from legacies and so we are really grateful to anyone like Eunice."

The sanctuary has nine donkey farms across Britain and needs funds to pay for their upkeep and medical treatment for the donkeys, the oldest of which is Snowball, who is 56.

It also runs overseas projects to provide medical treatment for donkeys all over the world.

A spokesman for Eunice's executors Forbes and Partners in Clitheroe declined to comment.