The owner of a popular family farm on Portland says she can't see her business surviving the winter due to crippling rising costs.

Fancy's Farm is a community interest company in Glacis and run by volunteers but fears it will not be able to steady the ship as the cost-of-living crisis takes hold.

Owner Su Illsley told the Dorset Echo that the cost of buying feed in bulk for her animals has risen from about £1,000 to £1,750, while prices for other supplies such as hay, straw and gas bottles have also sky-rocketed.

The farm, which is free to enter, is home to some unique animals such as a rare breed of Portland sheep and wallabies, and has been based on the isle for 12 years.

Su said she has been 'fighting' each year to keep the farm running - adding it is more expensive for her to open its doors right now as rising costs bite.

She also claimed the farm has received 'no support at all' with its bills, which is in contrast to households being offered payments to help them manage the cost of living.

Fancy's Farm is currently closed to the public due to the recent wet weather making the ground waterlogged.

A reopening date has not been decided but Su claimed she was hoping to open up again in between Christmas and New Year.

But the immediate future remained a concern for the small business owner, who raised fears about whether the farm will see through the tough economic climate.

"Our costs have gone up significantly and it is because of a great big muddle of things," Su said.

"It is free to enter the farm so people come in and look around, but they are not spending money.

"And I completely understand that because they have not got much to pay the bills.

"But if we started charging, even less people are going to come. The last day that we were open, I took £32.

"We have got anmals to feed and bills to pay. It is just hard. It is costing us more to open and we are actually losing money. We know everything is going up but it is at ridiculous rates."

Su added: "With the way things are at the moment I can't see the farm surviving which is really quite sad. We have been here for 12 years and this is the worst yet.

"We have fought every year to get the farm through the winter but it is just a rollercoaster effect."

Another problem for Fancy's Farm is a hangover from the extreme heat during the summer, during which Su and her team had to use more hay and hard feed due to the inedible dried out grass.

“We are a community interest company and the farm is not just for us, it is for the whole community, but I can’t afford to keep propping it up," she added. 

“We are doing everything we can to get stuff as cheap as possible but we do not know what the answer is. I don’t know anymore.”

The farm has put out a social media appeal for donations to help feed the animals and has so far received about £700 from kind-hearted supporters.

“Come and support us, we are hanging in there by our fingernails,” Su said. “Without the support of the community we can’t keep going.”

Donations to the farm can be made through PayPal via donations@fancysfarm.co.uk or visit www.fancysfarm.co.uk