A MALVERN woman who spends around £30,000 a year saving horses from cruelty and death is applying for charitable status.

Sue Penny devotes her evenings to running two Malvern-based taxi firms, Classic Cabs and Sue's Taxis.

The businesses help to subsidise looking after 65 horses she has rescued from markets after they were abandoned or saved from racing stables which have no more use for them.

During the day Mrs Penny looks after the animals in a series of rented fields in Suckley, Leigh Sinton and Half Key. Another eight have been "loaned" out to homes she has personally vetted as company for other horses.

Mrs Penny said she was motivated by "just purely wanting to help horses".

"That's all it is," she said. "I'm just besotted with them. I fail to see why they should be victimised just because people have no money, breed too many or they're not fast enough on the race track."

Mrs Penny said one major factor that leads to horses being treated badly is over-breeding, when stallions are bred with ponies and their offspring are rounded up to be taken to market. Many are separated from their mothers, crushed into lorries and sold cheaply for meat.

The 47-year-old mother-of-three is to apply for permission to set up her own charity - Penny Ha'penny Horse and Pony Rescue - which will enable her to take donations and increase her campaign for better monitoring of breeding.

One horse she gave a home to recently is Micky, a good-natured ex-hunter who was left unsafe to ride after a fall. He faced being shot had a new home not been found for him.

His owner, Madeleine Hyde-Thomson, of Berrow, said she was extremely grateful to Mrs Penny, who responded to an article in the Malvern Gazette about the horse's plight.

Mrs Penny said she would welcome any donations of rugs, blankets or horse worming products. Anyone who wants to help her look after the horses would be welcome, although most of them are not fit for riding.

Mrs Penny can be contacted at 37 Knapp Way, Malvern.