HOUSING association staff raised nearly £2,000 for an animal charity.

Southdown Housing Association staff raised £1,828 for their charity of the year, Sussex Caring Pets.

Chief Executive Neil Blanchard and assistant company secretary Roz Spellman accepted the cheque on behalf of the charity with the aid of their own therapy dogs Mojo and Rolo.

Sussex Caring Pets take pets to visit people in hospitals, residential care homes, universities and schools as therapy. The organisation is run by volunteers and a fresh recruit this year was Neil and his newly trained dog Mojo.

He said: "We chose Sussex Caring Pets as our charity of the year last year as we know from experience the very real benefits interaction with a therapy support animal can have.

"One of Rolo’s many friends is a Southdown client who he visits regularly, whilst my dog Mojo is a big hit at the Dementia ward at Brighton General Hospital.

"Southdown staff are always generous with their time and donations and we are thrilled to be able to donate this amount to Sussex Caring Pets."