MUSICAL stars from Otley have contributed lots for a fundraising Christmas auction.

One Voice for Animals UK Appeal was founded to help small animal and wildlife rescue centres overcome the funding crisis that has been caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The organisation’s next fundraiser is a huge online, national auction that will include lots that have been donated by celebrities from Wharfedale and Aireborough.

The Christmas Auction runs from November 29 to December 5 and will feature more than 200 items ranging from jewellery and hampers to experiences and animal-themed pieces of art.

Among the locally donated lots will be:

*Signed CDs from Otley’s Serious Sam Barrett

*A signed book by children’s author Alison J Wainwright, formerly of Ilkley

*Signed CDs from Tony Wright of Terrorvision fame - who now owns the Bloomfield Square cafe in Otley

Some of the animal-specific items that are going up for sale, meanwhile, include a cat sculpture by Matt Buckley worth £185, a watercolour painted by former Eastern Daily Press cartoonist Tony Hall, worth £300, and a cast bronze resin statue from the UK Wild Otter Trust.

A One Voice for Animals UK Appeal spokesperson said: “The appeal’s first ever auction in August raised £3,142 for 60 of the wildlife and domestic animal rescues in its directory.

“The upcoming auction is set to be even bigger.

“The Christmas Auction has over 200 lots for members of the public to bid on.

“The winning bids for some of these lots will be paid to the specific rescue who donated the lot.

“The rest of the lots can benefit any rescue on the appeal’s member directory at www.helpanimals.co.uk - the winning bidder chooses which one they want to support.”

The auction will be held via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/OneVoiceAuction.

As soon as bidding closes at 7pm on Saturday, December 5 the appeal’s volunteers will ensure the donations are made to the nominated rescues.

The items will then be posted out to the successful bidders in plenty of time to arrive for Christmas.

The One Voice for Animals UK Appeal was set up in April to support wildlife and domestic animal rescue centres and sanctuaries that were struggling financially due to the COVID-19 crisis.

During the first lockdown Val Green, a civil servant from Nottingham, saw her local rescues’ pleas for help on social media and responded by gathering a small team of volunteers and setting up www.helpanimals.co.uk - a directory of nearly 300 animal organisations.

The group’s website states that: “The rescue organisations on this directory have told us they are struggling due to COVID-19.

“They are dealing with wildlife casualties and abandoned animals with fewer volunteers and a lot less money.”