Wigan animal rescue centre counting cost after damage from Storm Franklin

Powerful gusts of wind during Storm Franklin battered the building at Lucky Hens Rescue in Amberswood.

Heavy iron girders on top of the barn, which had been lifted into place by crane, were knocked off, setting back the project.

Alison Thorpe, who runs Lucky Hens, says a specialist will now be needed to look at the building before work can continue.

She said: “It’s the sixth time now that storms have hit the barn. We have got a crane operator coming to assess it, because we don’t know how we will get the girders back on the barn.”

Repair work had already been done after previous storm damage and the girders had been put in place to form part of the roof.

Alison said: “The girders were the final part of the jigsaw, we thought.

“They were very heavy and we had to get a crane on site to lift them up. They were both sitting on a large brick pillar.

“We still can’t believe this has happened. We’re still shocked.

“We were confident that it would withstand a tornado because of the weight of the beams.”

The latest damage has cast doubt on how the building will be used in future.

It currently houses building materials, but it was hoped it could be used to stable animals in future.

Alison’s husband and son both have experience in the building industry and had been carrying out work on the barn in their spare time.

But with the expert work now needed and the setback from this damage, other builders may be needed.

Alison fears being left with a massive bill, after already ploughing all her money into buying the site and setting up the centre, which finds new homes for caged hens to save them from being slaughtered.

She said: “Financially it’s going to cost a fortune. We are going to have to get contractors in now. We are paying to do this ourselves.”

Alison says the location of Lucky Hens is particularly windy and she could even be forced to sell up and relocate if the property continues to be damaged by storms.

“I feel like we are throwing money down the drain all the time,” she said.

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