AN EXPATRIATE living in Sydney is appealing for donations to help wildlife affected by the raging bush fires.

For weeks, fires have raged across Australia with no end seemingly in sight despite heroic efforts from emergency services.

Ruby Mcgrow, 80, said: “I love all animals and it breaks my heart to see so many animals injured.

“WIRES is a charity run mostly by volunteers who care for sick and injured wildlife and also educate the public on what to do if we find an injured one.

“More than 20,000 koala have died in bushfires - it’s heartbreaking.

"I want to ask people to donate to WIRES. Even the poor birds need looking after."

Mrs Mcgrow moved to Australia in 1970 from Worcester and she is a frequent contributor to the Worcester News Camera Club.

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In December alone, more than 20,000 calls were made to WIRES - a 14 percent increase on the previous year, and volunteers attended over 3,300 rescues.

Mrs Mcgrow added: “We do have very thick smoke here.

“It makes me cough as though I’ve been smoking cigs but I’ve never smoked in my life.

“I had to start using a puffer for breathing and I haven’t used one for years.

“People are told not to go out if they have breathing problems.”

In a statement, WIRES said: “We have never seen a concurrent series of emergencies events like those that began in November.

“Many animals were already struggling with a lack of water and food due to the drought.

“With the fires destroying unprecedented amounts of habitat, food shortages have increased and lack of suitable habitat will be a significant long-term challenge for surviving wildlife.

“It will be many months before the impact on wild populations can be better understood but ecologists at Sydney University have estimated over 800 million animals have been affected in Australia since September.

“Summer is a frantically busy time for wildlife rescue and there are still over 100 fires burning in NSW.”

Anyone wanting to donate can contact the charity on: https://www.wires.org.au/

The charity has 28 branches around New South Wales and over 2,500 volunteer members, supporting animals around the clock.