felixstowe: Charity bosses have decided the fate of Felixstowe’s treasured Blue Cross animal centre – but their decision will remain under wraps until next month.

Members of The Evening Star Save the Blue Cross campaign are keeping fingers crossed that the board of trustees have agreed to keep the rescue shelter open.

But it could be at least a week before that is known, leaving the ten staff at the centre in Walton High Street and all its supporters with an agonising wait.

A spokeswoman for the Blue Cross said yesterday’s trustees’ decision would be reviewed by the charity’s executive team in the next week or so and then the arrangements – including telling staff – will be finalised.

The trustees were also asked to make a decision about the future of the Northiam shelter and its equestrian centre.

“We are working as hard as we can to get this resolved as soon as we can. The trustees indicate their decision and our executive team will then finalise that in the next week or so,” she said.

Tom Crowley, former centre manager and now one of its volunteers and part of the campaign team, said: “We are all keeping our fingers crossed that the trustees have made a decision in favour of Felixstowe.”

“There are no proposals to close any of the animal hospitals and Felixstowe often takes animals from hospitals whose owners no longer want them and finds new homes for them. So it wouldn’t make sense to close our centre here.

“If Felixstowe and Northiam were both to close it would leave no centre in the charity’s south-east region between here and Southampton.”

? Tell us your thoughts on the proposal to close the Felixstowe Blue Cross centre – write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk