Transport urgently needed for ‘Operation Esther’ convoy
Organisers of ‘Operation Esther’ are appealing for people to help in their planned convoy on Saturday, 26 January.
Julie Magnus, Michelle Mortimer and other members of the Horse & Hound Forum set up ‘Operation Esther’ to help the horses, ponies and donkeys rescued from Spindles Farm in Amersham. Collection points all over the country were inundated with donated goods last Sunday, 20 January by generous horse lovers.
The operation now desperately needs lorries to transport the donated goods from the collection points to the convoy point at Tattersalls, Newmarket and then on to the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) and Redwings in Norfolk.
From the 50 lorries pledged by other ‘Operation Esther’ supporters there are so far only three confirmed to take part in the convoy.
The original plan was to transport all the goods to the ILPH and Redwings headquarters in Norfolk and the charities will decide from there how they can best utilise the goods.
But without the lorries Julie and Michelle fear there will be donated goods left waiting at collection points across the country.
Julie Magnus said: “The pledge of 50 lorries at the beginning now seems to have gone quiet. We now have collection points full with no one to collect the goods.
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“Having spent more than £3,000 of my own money on the campaign organising transport and collections I cannot fund another collection – I only wish I could. I hope I am wrong and that people will suddenly register their lorries.”
The Suffolk and Norfolk police have approved the mission but all lorries need to be registered by tomorrow, Thursday 24 January. To register visit www.operationesther.com
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.