Ten years ago, cat-lover Barbara Sharp had a dream to create a purpose-built home for cats which had been abandoned.

With the help of friends and volunteers, she worked with determination to achieve that dream, and raised £200,000 to be able to buy a former cattery and convert it into a state-of-the-art cat home in York.

Today, as the last of the cats are moved from pens in her back garden to the new premises at Bank Top House, Huntington Road, her dream has finally come true, and just in time for the new kitten season.

But the most important thing for Barbara, who, at the age of 62 is planning to retire within the next couple of years, is that her work continues when she is no longer in charge.

She said: "It was my dream ten years ago when I started the York Cats Protection League. I now know my dream has come true and it will always go on. It will be a bit like the RSPCA but just for cats."

It all started when Barbara went to a coffee morning held by the Harrogate branch of the Cats Protection League (CPL) and decided to start York Feline Rescue with a friend.

Once they had been seen to be self-funding they were accepted into the CPL, a national charity which has been running since 1927.

Barbara and other volunteers kept the cats in special pens in their gardens and would often be seen in the depths of winter emptying litter trays and tending to the animals.

Barbara said: "Now we will be able to keep them all under one roof. We can take in 60 to 80 cats. We've got a proper kitchen, a washing machine, a big stainless steel sink inside and a big shed to store goods which are donated to us.

"Each cat has a heated bed, which helps them to get settled more quickly.

"We've now got one full-time and one part-time worker."

And it's not just the cats which are moving to a new home. Barbara is also moving out of her house in Green Lane, Acomb, to move into the house on the premises of the new CPL centre and become its live-in manager.

She said: "I'm selling my house and I'm going to live in the house on the premises for a couple of years to start it up and get it going.

"Then I may bow out gracefully after ten years of working seven days a week, 365 days a year."

The new CPL shelter is at Bank Top House, 582 Huntington Road, York. Call 01904 760356.

Updated: 12:02 Tuesday, April 17, 2001