A GREAT-grandmother has been banned from collecting charity donations outside Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

Mary Saunders has collected more than £80,000 for various charities over 17 years from her seat in the car park at Queen Victoria's favourite residence.

Now English Heritage, which runs the property, has called for an end to her collecting days for good causes like Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and Cancer Research.

Charity bosses, who also look after 400 historic treasures including Stonehenge, say they need any money collected at Osborne House.

Mary, 79, says she is devastated by the decision.

She said: "I don't really understand why English Heritage wishes me to stop. It seems they are putting bricks and mortar before people's lives.

"I feel sure that if Queen Victoria were alive she would not object to donations being collected. After all, people already pay £8.50 to English Heritage just to get into the building."

A spokesman for English Heritage said the charity was sorry to disappoint Mrs Saunders, but that it was a move they had agreed with her earlier in the year. He added that they needed all the money they could get for the upkeep of their properties.

"We have challenging fundraising needs of our own," he said.