A REFUGE which has provided a safe haven for hundreds of ill-treated and unwanted animals over the past five years will close its doors next month if £90,000 cannot be found. Every animal which has been helped by the Only Foals and Horses Sanctuary in Oswaldtwistle has its own story. Some are tragic, while others verge on the hilarious. Reporter PAUL BARRY spoke to co-ordinator Olive Lomas, whose dream became a reality when she gave up her home to launch the refuge in 1994.

MOTHER-OF-THREE Olive Lomas, 69, moved out of her council house in Burnley and into an old portable cabin overlooking Oswaldtwistle in 1994.

Her husband had died eight years previously and her dream of looking after horses and ponies filled the void that his passing created.

Since then, the sanctuary she founded has rescued hundreds of ill-treated, unwanted and homeless animals and nursed them to good health. But if the refuge cannot meet its fundraising target of £180,000 to buy the land it currently rents, its 81 horses, ponies, and foals, 24 goats, and 16 pigs will be looking for a new home.

The generosity of Lancashire Evening Telegraph readers has been matched by that of a retired Suffolk businessman who has offered the sanctuary a £90,000 low-interest loan after reading about the plea for cash.

But while Mrs Lomas says the surprise lifeline has given her increased hope, the reality is that the refuge may be forced to close if the remainder of the cash, some £90,000, cannot be raised.

Volunteers at the Only Foals And Horses Sanctuary have felt the joy of nursing to health countless animals that were close to death's door.

The helpers at the sanctuary, at Redshell Stables, off Haslingden Old Road, have also encountered sadness when they realised some animals they rescued were beyond saving.

There were other times when they didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Like when they agreed to buy two ponies from a car dealer - who had been given them as part payment for something with a bit more horsepower! The sanctuary was tipped-off about the ponies, later named Norman and Ruth, by a member of the public and negotiated a price of £100 with the car dealer.

Mrs Lomas said: "We had an appeal on at the time where a number of people were collecting five pence pieces. We called all the people who were collecting and managed to get the money together almost straight away - although most of it was in five pence pieces!"

Mrs Lomas, a veteran campaigner for animal issues, called for tighter controls on animal auctions after the death of a undernourished foal they bought from a sale in Yorkshire in 1997.

Volunteers at the sanctuary worked around the clock to try to nurse the four-month foal, called Rolf, back to health.

They had bought the animal along with another foal called Sullivan at an auction.

Rolf clung on to life for three weeks but the vet was called in to put him down when he became too weak to carry on.

Olive said: "Rolf was too young for auction and had barely been weaned. It was obvious from our first close inspection of both foals that they were undernourished, weak and very young. They really should not have been there."

The older foal survived thanks to the loving care of the volunteers at the sanctuary.

Mrs Lomas said: "Sullivan is living proof of what long term care and rehabilitation can do."

She has repeated the call she made then for auctioneers to follow Government guidelines and said the RSPCA should step up their supervision of auctions.

A number of stars from the world of television have called in at Redshell Stables to pledge their support for the sanctuary's work. One of the first to give her backing was Sherrie Hewson, who played Reg Holdsworth's wife Maureen in Coronation Street. Sherrie saw more than £1,500 worth of goods go under the hammer when she acted as guest auctioneer at an auction to raise cash for the sanctuary.

And Sherrie, who was involved with the refuge's work from the beginning, also adopted Velvet, a foal who became an unexpected part of the Only Foals and Horses family after the sanctuary took in a pony who had been passed "from pillar to post".

Mrs Lomas said: "She was called Sally and she looked like a nice children's riding pony, but you had to be careful when you were cleaning her out because she would kick people."

Sally's owners decided to take her to auction, where she might have been passed on to more unsuspecting owners had she been snapped up by a dealer. But one of the sanctuary's volunteers spotted her and quickly decided to pay up. Shortly after she arrived at the refuge, it was found that Sally was pregnant and the foal Velvet was born. The list of Coronation Street stars who have helped the sanctuary goes on - Denise Welch, who plays the soap's family wrecker Natalie Horrocks, adopted a small black Shetland pony.

Denise and her actor husband Tim Healey are now sponsoring the three-year-old pony - called Mel Gibson!

The adoption was arranged by Bruce Jones and Accrington actress Vicky Entwistle who play the battling Battersby couple in Corrie and already sponsor animals of their own.

Bruce, whose hard man character Les is regularly seen ranting and raving at neighbours, has adopted a horse called Sefton.

Other high-profile backers include Only Fools and Horses TV scriptwriter John Sullivan who set up a fund to start a stabling section called "Trotters' Peckham Block."

The frolics of the animals help to keep the volunteers' spirits up. Characters like Philco the pony who drinks tea from a cup, says 'please' and blows kisses at visitors, and Kevin the goat who seems to understand every word people say, help the team focus on their task.

But as Judgement Day approaches, the good work of the sanctuary could well be over if remaining £90,000 cannot be found.

Anyone wishing to help the sanctuary can call Mrs Lomas on 01254 235559 or 239995. Donations can be sent to Only Foals and Horses, Redshell Lane, Oswaldtwistle, BB5 3RW.

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