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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 Β£30,000 of income in the charity's accounts.
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An undercover investigation by the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's regional current affairs series Inside Out West also found up to Β£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 Β£5,987 and outgoings of Β£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 Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ 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 Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ 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 Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer, where it will be available for seven days after the original transmission.
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Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Bristol Press Office
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