WANTAGE MP Ed Vaizey officially opened a donkey hospital this weekend.

The Conservative former culture minister cut the ribbon at the Island Farm Donkey Sanctuary in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, near Wallingford, on Sunday.

Posing behind a gate with what appears to be a cup of coffee, Mr Vaizey looks on at a sign bearing his name, with his surname being given an ‘s’ in error.

The Lawrence and McLaren Donkey Hospital will now be part of the sanctuary, which has been running since 1993 and became a registered charity in July 2000.

The new addition is the result of years of fundraising, particularly by Keith Lawrence and his family and Island Farm co-founder John McLaren.

In a statement, the organisation said: “As a charity dedicated to the welfare of mistreated and neglected donkeys, we wanted to give them the very best care we could by having an onsite facility to operate indoors and to be able to minimise the risk of infection.”

Mr Lawrence died suddenly in August 2015 but his wife Heather and the family continued with fundraising for the project as a tribute to Keith.

The first phase cost £17,500, with each phase of the project only be able to proceed as funds were raised, which meant a four-year wait before completion.

A further phase of the project will allow the hospital to purchase new surgical and diagnostic equipment.

To donate to the sanctuary, visit the website donkeyrescue.co.uk/make-a-donation/