STAPELEY Grange Wildlife Centre and Cattery in Nantwich has seen its 100,000th animal pass through its doors since opening in 1994.

A tiny blackbird with an infected eye became the milestone admission to the RSPCA centre, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

As part of the celebrations, centre manager Lee Stewart has been doing a count up of all the animals which have been brought into Stapeley Grange.

He said: “It is amazing when you think about it that such a large number of animals have passed through our doors during the last two decades.

“I originally only had the figures to 1995, but after further digging I managed to get the 1994 admissions and they revealed we were so close to hitting the 100,000 mark. Then this week it happened.

“It really is quite staggering to think that so many animals have been cared for at Stapeley and shows the dedication of staff and volunteers at the centre, we can’t save them all obviously and we have to make some very tough decisions, but the team works hard to find new ‘forever’ homes for our domestics and exotics and return, where possible, our wild animals back to the wild.”

To celebrate the anniversary, staff and volunteers at the centre are hoping to raise £50,000 this year through a series of fundraising events.

The next event will be a bat walk on May 30. Booking is essential via charlie.pass@rspca.org.uk Find out more about forthcoming events at rspca.org.uk/stapeley