An OAP is to raise funds for a charity that cared for her beloved dogs while she received life-saving treatment in hospital.

Marlene Austin, 74, of Barnard Acres, was found unconscious on her floor of her home last year.

She was found to be suffering from inflammatory colitus, a potentially fatal condition, but refused to go to hospital unless arrangements had been made for her dogs Poppy and Becky to be looked after.

The Cinnamon Trust found her dogs a foster home and, when Mrs Austin returned too weak to care for the animals, the charity supplied volunteers to care for her dogs. 

Mrs Austen believes her dogs would have been taken away from her without help from the trust and is now hosting a fundraising cream tea afternoon.

There will be a caricaturist, her magician grandson will perform and while raffle prizes include a private pod on the London Eye and a helicopter ride.

Mrs Austin said: "They really are a worthwhile charity. In fact, they saved my life.

“They care for all animals, dogs, cats, pigs, anything really and they always need more volunteers. I wish I could do more to help them but I am too weak.”

Tickets for the event at Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne on Sunday, from 1.30 pm, cost £6.

Discounted entrance to the wildlife park will cost a further £9.

The Cinnamon Trust, based in Cornwall, seeks to relieve the anxieties faced by elderly and terminally ill people and their pets to prevent human sadness and animal suffering.

For more information on the event, call Mrs Austen 07775 637163.