A ORPINGTON charity shop has been forced to close after the cost of evicting two disruptive tenants rocketed to almost £10,000.

Animal Samaritans founder Harry Moore, 81, of Verdant Lane, Catford, was “devastated” when he decided to close the Orpington High Street centre. The charity rented the property in 1999 for two-and-a-half years and decided to sublet the flat above to a couple in their early 20s in a bid to cover some of the costs.

But after the first month, the pair stopped paying rent and, after they started causing damage, the charity took legal action to evict them.

Members of staff had “cried their eyes out” when they saw the damage in the flat above the shop.

Mr Moore said: “I am so upset because we set up the shop to help animals and it has all come to nothing. It's the worst thing to happened to our charity.

“We are mostly elderly volunteers and the money was raised by our 750 members and charitable contributions from the general public.

“We just couldn't afford to pay the rent after loosing all that money.

The couple were sent an eviction notice by Bromley County Court in October last year, after demolishing the floor below the living room, creating chaos in the shop below.

And before they disappeared, the pair emptied rubbish, smashed a banister and furniture, and took a bed, radiators, a coffee table and a three-piece suite, at a total cost of £4,000.

Mr Moore has been forced to forced to pay £1,500 in legal fees and lost a further £3,200 in unpaid rent. The charity will also be asked to find about £500 in unpaid electricity and gas bills and another £112 in council tax, making a total loss of £9,312.

Mr Moore added: “But the disaster does not mean the end of the charity and we shall be soldiering on with our work looking after wild birds, helping people with veterinary bills and running our pet bereavement scheme.”