A widow has left £500,000 to two animal charities in her will.

Eileen Stevenson bequeathed £250,000 each to the RSPCA and the Brooke Hospital for Animals on her death aged 76.

She also left money to charities including the National Canine Defence League, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the International Donkey Protection Trust.

Mrs Stevenson, who was born in London and lived in Lewes before moving to Saltdean, had no children. Her husband Kenneth, an insurance manager, died in 1997.

Mrs Stevenson had supported animal charities for many years.

She owned a parrot and a dog which were rehomed after she died last November.

Lynne Nesbit, the legacy manager for the Brooke Hospital for Animals, said Mrs Stevenson had supported the charity since watching a BBC documentary in 1989 about its work in Egypt.

She said: "We are very grateful to Mrs Stevenson for remembering us in this way.

"This is the most beneficial way to support a charity and very often the most painless way. Very often people do not have money to give during their lifetime, but legacies make up more than half our income."

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said: "We are delighted Mrs Stevenson has left this money to us. A high percentage of our income comes from legacies and they are vital for allowing us to continue with our work."