BERYL Anne Finch, known as Anne, has died aged 75 at Mountbatten on August 5 after a struggle with parkinson's and motor neurone disease.

Anne was a talented pianist and left Durham University with a degree in music and French before joining the nursing profession at Royal Holloway College.

After 30 years as a nurse, she embarked on a life mission to halt the abuse of working and retired greyhounds.

She adopted her first greyhound in 1986 and discovered a network where 1,000 dogs per year, that were already at the end of their racing lives, were sold to Spain where they would race again until disposed of.

Anne's investigative trip in 1991 resulted in an inspection by the World Greyhound Racing Federation which ended in a Mallorca track's closure.

Her work relocating the rescued greyhounds has resulted in refuges in nearly every European country.

She then worked to transport Spanish galgos — native greyhounds used for hunting then cruelly disposed of — to new homes in Europe.

Spanish refuges are now filled with these dogs awaiting homes.

Keen to spread the effects of her work with greyhounds, she wrote The Pet Owners' Guide to the Greyhound, which has become a bible for those who own them.

After this, she continued her hands-on approach and bought an air-conditioned van to transport greyhounds from Spain to homes across Europe.

Her work continues to impact today with the charity Greyhounds in Need, founded by Anne and husband Arthur, which celebrated 20 years of good work in May this year.

The charity now has patrons that include Dame Judi Dench, Jilly Cooper, Peter Egan and Ricky Gervais.

For all her energy, much of Anne’s life was blighted by an inexplicable facial pain, never permanently cured despite consulting various private specialists.

In her last decade, she sang and accompanied for Ryde Chorus and the choir of Holy Trinity Church Bembridge, as well as organising concerts for Sistema Scotland and working for the IW Donkey Sanctuary.

Anne's funeral service will take place at Holy Trinity Church, Bembridge, on Thursday, September 6 at 1.15pm.