Trindledown’s £4k boost

ANIMALS at a Great Shefford rehoming centre are being given a £4,000 donation towards their care, thanks to a recycling scheme operating at West Berkshire Crematorium.

The money is from a national environmentally-friendly scheme which carefully recovers the surgical metals from the ashes that remain after cremation.

Ahead of the funeral, bereaved families can give their consent to the collection and recycling of any recovered metals.

Such metals are then carefully prepared and shipped to an organisation which specialises in the recycling of cremation metals.

Westerleigh Group, which operates 35 crematoriums nationwide, including West Berkshire Crematorium, donated around £500,000 to more than 100 charities across the country last year from the proceeds of its recycling scheme.

The Thatcham-based crematorium chose to donate to the National Animal Welfare Trust (NAWT) Berkshire Centre in Great Shefford because of the troubles it has been facing over the past year.

Centre manager Tracy Waldron (pictured) said: “We would like to thank West Berkshire Crematorium for helping us and to especially thank the families who give consent to this scheme.

“Their decision has given charities like ours a financial lifeline. It will go towards medical bills, food and specialist care for the dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and field animals we care for while they await their new homes.”

The Trindledown Farm centre has been temporarily closed to the public for over a year mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

West Berkshire Crematorium site manager Stephanie Langford said: “This past year has been very difficult for a lot of charities, as they rely on public support.

“NAWT’s site at Trindledown Farm has now been closed to the public for over a year.

“We at West Berkshire Crematorium want to ensure that the farm can continue to offer animal rehoming services to our local community and, once restrictions have lifted, safely open their doors to the public again.”