An animal sanctuary has opened a second fundraising shop to raise much-needed funds to help pay for new facilities at its home.

Hallswood animal sanctuary in Shortthorn Road, Stratton Strawless, near Horsford, has had a shop in Drayton Road, Mile Cross, since November 2011. Its new shop, which opened last week, is at 23, Suffolk Square, off Vauxhall Street in Norwich.

The new shop will be open between 10am and 5pm and will raise funds for the more than 750 animals and birds the sanctuary cares for.

The sanctuary's owner Lyz Hall, who has cared for sick and injured wildlife on the site for more than 10 years, said: 'We are incredibly busy at the moment. Most of the smaller, one-man band operations, like us, are gone now. And without the fundraising shops we probably would not still be here. That's why we need another shop to bring in the money.

'We have got to expand to provide bigger spaces and nicer facilities for the animals to live in. Unfortunately, donations are down at the moment, as times are hard. We would like to thank all our individual supporters. We are very grateful to them.'

The new shop manager in Suffolk Square, Sam Hall, said: 'Trade is pretty good. There's always a lot of support for animal charities.'

The shop in Mile Cross, which is opposite the Lidl supermarket, is run by Maria Thornberg, who added: 'Trade here is fairly good overall, and we get loads of donations.'

The not-for-profit sanctuary was set up by Mrs Hall's husband, Keith, who died aged 63 following a major stroke in September 2010.

For more information, visit www.hallswoodanimalsanctuary.co.uk