Darlington animal lover Maureen Bell is retiring after dedicating 14 years of her life to holding jumble sales for animal charities.

In all that time, her husband hasn't been able to get a hammer out of his garden shed, and trying to put a pair of shoes in the cupboard under the stairs was out of the question.

Every spare inch in their home was stuffed full of bric-a-brac, Mills and Boon novels and woolly jumpers, all to be sold at an endless procession of jumble sales at her local church hall.

As a child she was surrounded by tortoises, snakes and dogs. Her upbringing made her passionate about animal causes - she has even left her semi-detached Cockerton home to the Donkey Sanctuary in her will.

But now, after 14 years of hosting jumble sales and a lifetime of helping animal charities, Mrs Bell is to retire from her voluntary work, due to minor angina attacks.

She said: "I'll miss it. Selling a pair of trousers for 10p used to give me a buzz. With every item I sold, I would feel really glad that I was helping my little animal friends." Over the last 14 years, she has held more than 100 jumble sales, sold a thousand pairs of trousers, two thousand books and endless items of bric-a-brac.

She has raised more than £20,000 for charities such as the RSPCA, the National Canine Defence League, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the Redwings Horse Sanctuary.

Her jumble sales only ever lasted an hour - but people would flock from far and wide to bargain-hunt and Mrs Bell never raised less than £200 a time.

Generous benefactors from all over Darlington and the surrounding area - frequently informed by Briefly items in the Advertiser - would offer books, clothing and bric-a-brac and Mrs Bell would drop everything at a moment's notice to go and pick up the goods.

She said: "People were so generous - they donated beautiful things. The sales became quite well known for having nice things. I would have the books in one place, the clothing in another and there was a bric-a-brac stall and a tombola. Everything that wasn't sold in the hour I would donate to the Salvation Army and the charity shops in Darlington."

Mrs Bell began holding the jumble sales with her friend after stories about cruelty to animals in the newspapers tugged at her heartstrings.

She said: "I needed to do something to help, and I couldn't keep sending all my own money, so we decided to start raising it.

"I love animals and have always had a dog, until recently. But I think my favourite animals are donkeys.

"I feel so sorry for them when I see them on the beaches."

Mrs Bell has been an honoured guest at many of the animal sanctuaries she has helped, including the Donkey Sanctuary in Devon which has cared for 8,300 donkeys since it was started in 1969 and which is home to 500 now.

"I loved it there," she said. "The lady started off with a handful of donkeys and now there are donkeys everywhere - I was in heaven when I visited!"