CHARITABLE Stourport shoppers have been thanked by an international animal protection group after raising hundreds of pounds to help rescue bears.

A total of £373.75 was raised from a street collection on Saturday (June 16) in aid of Animals Asia, a group which works against cruelty to bears and other animals in China and Vietnam.

Wyre Forest Vegans also supported the fundraising efforts, sending a team of volunteers to help at the collection.

Christine Coldrick, Worcestershire Co-ordinator for Animals Asia, said: "We’re absolutely delighted at the amount we collected, almost twice as much as in a similar collection last year.

"Animals Asia was founded in 1998 to protect and rescue moon bears, who are kept in tiny cages and appalling conditions in China and Vietnam, so they can be used for the agonising extraction of bile from their gall bladders for use in Chinese medicine.

"Since then, the charity has extended its activities to the welfare of cats and dogs in China, where they are often abandoned and sometimes sold in meat markets, and to the protection of animals in the country's zoos and safari parks, where they often suffer abuse.”

People can find out more about Animals Asia on their website www.animalsasia.org and those wishing to help with future fundraising in Worcestershire can contact Christine Coldrick at chriscoldrick@gmail.com.