A charity for abandoned donkeys is £16,000 richer after its patron MP Ann Widdecombe appeared on TV's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

The Tory MP joined forces with former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, from Newick, near Lewes, in an attempt to make a million for Sussex-based Safe Haven For Donkeys In The Holy Land and the Fire Services National Benevolent Fund.

Ms Widdecombe is patron of the charity, established in 2000 by Sussex woman Lucy Fensom to care for mistreated donkeys in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Ms Fensom, who was recently honoured for her work at an awards ceremony organised by the Humane Society in Los Angeles, said: "The funds raised will go a long way towards helping Safe Haven to care for abandoned and unwanted donkeys and to provide advice and support to the owners of working donkeys from both sides of the border in the Middle East."

The charity has a rescue centre, which currently cares for 100 donkeys, and has established a new resting station for working donkeys which also acts as a free veterinary clinic.

In 2004, Ms Widdecombe visited Israel to see the charity's work first-hand and described the sanctuary as "a small oasis of humanity in a deeply troubled part of the globe".

For more information about the work of Safe Haven or to make a donation, visit its website at www.safehaven4donkeys.org