A ROTTING aviary in a bird hospital will be replaced thanks to a donation.

Greenmount Wild Bird Hospital has described the £1,902 from Yorkshire Building Society as a lifeline.

The charity, which was established in 1979, received the sum after colleagues at the Bury branch of the building society nominated it for the grant given by the Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation.

Natalie Stewart-Kerr, manager of Greenmount Wild Bird Hospital, said: “The donation from Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation really is a lifeline.

“The aviary we need to replace is about 20 years old and is in a very sorry state. It is the largest of our 33 aviaries and used to house the big birds of prey.

“As a charity we rely on donations like this and our dedicated volunteers. We are extremely busy at the moment taking in an average of 30 birds a day but hopefully we will be able to get the new aviary in place in September.”

The charity is run by a team of hardworking volunteers who had treated more than 900 sick and injured birds this year. Where possible the birds are then reintroduced back into the wild.

James Fenton, manager of the Bury branch of Yorkshire Building Society, said: “We are proud to be part of the community here in Bury and a vital part of that is supporting local charities where we can.

“When we heard Greenmount needed help in building their new aviary we could not wait to put in a nomination to the Charitable Foundation. It is funded by our members and I know they would be as proud as I am to support such a worthwhile cause.”

The Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation is funded through the Small Change Big Difference scheme where members donate from the interest on their accounts once a year to help smaller charities and good causes around the UK.

In 2015, the Charitable Foundation paid 1,502 donations totalling £392,276 to good causes and charities. See ybs.co.uk/charitable foundation for more details.