THE future of a charity which looks after 400 stray dogs and cats is in doubt after it was forced to close the shop which funds its work.

Animal SOS rescues of hundreds of sick, stray animals in Sri Lanka but may have to drastically scale down operations after its tenancy for a charity shop in The Broadway, Woodford Green, expired.

Landlord Peter Southgate, who owns the Vault bar next door, is said to be planning a new venture in the shop.

The charity was set to move to a unit in Snakes Lane East but the deal fell through and it faces a race against time to secure the sanctuary's future.

It was founded by Kim Cooling after she visited the country and was disturbed by the number of stray animals.

She said: "Having this shop was a life line for the charity, it was our only source of income.

"People are heartbroken that we are closing. We have had customers coming in and asking where they can find our new shop, but we don't know what to tell them.

"We are a hand to mouth charity so without this source of income the future of our charity looks bleak.

"We may have to shut our doors to emergencies because we haven't got a reserve fund.

"We have somehow got to find the funds to keep the sanctuary open. We have tried fundraising before, but we have never been able to raise the funds that our shop does.

She added that the closure of the sanctuary would have tragic consequences for the animals.

"If it was to close it would be disastrous for the animals in the sanctuary, we wouldn’t know what to do with them all.

"It would mean years of hard work from my team of volunteers would be brought to an end.

"We can’t let it happen."

To contact Mrs Cooling or to find out more about the charity visit animalsos-sl.com.

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