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Press Releases
Undercover investigation reveals shambolic
financial management at animal sanctuary
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An animal rescue centre in the Wye Valley is closing down after evidence of financial mismanagement was uncovered.
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Derek Holland, the trustee of the Westlea Animal Rescue charity, is standing down after admitting he failed to declare more than £30,000 of income in the charity's accounts.
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An undercover investigation by the ±«Óãtv's regional current affairs series Inside Out West also found up to £600 a week raised from a second-hand shop was not being accounted for.
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Stella and George Harris, the owners of the sanctuary near Coleford, insist all the money was spent on costs associated with the centre.
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Mr Holland, who oversees the registered charity's accounts, failed to tell the Charity Commission about the money left in a will from the sale of a property in 2003.
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Instead, he filed accounts showing an income of just £5,987 and outgoings of £5,392.
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He said: "I was doing it under pressure. I didn't want to get an accountant in just for a one-off situation. It appeared on our expenditure list and we have got cheques and invoices to balance it up so no-one has actually not spent it on the charity."
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"If I have failed then it's my responsibility and I have to say 'right-ho, I give up'."
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Mr and Mrs Harris also admitted a shop they were operating in Ross-on-Wye had been portrayed as supporting the registered charity. None of the money raised has appeared on the charity's accounts.
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It is kept by Mr and Mrs Harris in a box at the sanctuary and no detailed accounts are kept of how it is spent. The couple say it has only ever been used for cash-in-hand payments to members of staff or for animal feed.
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Vets' bills are met by a separate organisation, the Friends of Westlea.
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Former volunteers at the animal rescue centre have also raised concerns about the conditions some of the animals were being kept in.
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An undercover researcher working for the ±«Óãtv discovered that dogs and cats were being kept in small pens for long periods during the day.
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She also found out that some of the current staff at the sanctuary were unhappy at the lack of effort made to re-home the animals.
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Stella Harris says there are good reasons for every animal not yet re-homed and she says she is doing her best to provide a good home for the animals in her care.
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She says all the dogs are walked four times a day and fed regularly and the cats kept in small cages in her house are only there for medical observation.
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A spokesman for the Charity Commission said: "The Charity Commission is aware of the concerns relating to Westlea Animal Rescue. We are currently considering the appropriate way forward with regard to these concerns."
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The animal rescue centre and the fund raising shop in Ross-on-Wye are in the process of closing down and steps are being taken to re-home the animals.
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Inside Out West can be seen on ±«Óãtv One West at 7.30pm on Friday 2 May 2008.
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Viewers outside the West of England region can see it on digital satellite channel 986 or on the ±«Óãtv iPlayer, where it will be available for seven days after the original transmission.
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±«Óãtv Bristol Press Office
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