Frugal doctor who shunned other people leaves fortune to animals

Dr Doreen Scorgie died in June last year, aged 88, having spent the last year of her life in a home.

The reclusive Dr Scorgie had lived a "frugal" life in the Perthshire village of Comrie after working as a doctor at Stirling Royal Infirmary.

The spinster had left wishes that she be cremated and her ashes scattered at a garden of remembrance after a Church of Scotland funeral service.

But last night neighbours and acquaintances of Dr Scorgie told of their amazement at her wealth, after it emerged she was worth 1,666,179.91.

Dr Scorgie left 200,000 to family in Australia, but ordered the remainder of her fortune to be used to benefit a number of good causes.

Included in her list of beneficiaries were the Scottish SPCA, the Cats Protection League and Tayside Cat Shelter.

Her former neighbour Christine Arnott said: "She was such an animal lover. One of the other neighbours had a cat and she would always stop and pet it and talk to it.

"I knew she gave to charities because we had spoken about that one time, but I am amazed that she had so much money.

"I would think that would surprise most people who knew her, as she was a very private woman. She didn't dress in any fancy ways, didn't travel and certainly showed no outward signs of having wealth.

"She had a car, but didn't drive for the last few years because of an earlier accident in which she broke her leg. She kept the car in her garage, which had an automatic door, and every so often she would open the doors, just to let the other neighbours see it was still there, to show that she still had a car."

Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, added: "She lived very, very frugally and seemed to wear the same clothes all the time: trousers and a red anorak.

"She seemed to go out of her way to avoid human contact. There were only five people at her funeral, including the minister. She loved doing crosswords and puzzles, but never joined any organisations or went to any local events.

"She was always out feeding the birds and squirrels, and I had known her to visit people who had pets and give the animals gifts but take nothing for their owners.

"I never knew her to have any relationships or anything like that. She was very intelligent and had her wits about her until very recently"

The bulk of Dr Scorgie's wealth was held in a stocks and shares portfolio worth more than 900,000. She also had several savings accounts containing more than 500,000, as well as personal effects worth 2,600.

Last night, Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: "We are always extremely grateful when people remember us in their will.We do not receive any government or lottery funding, so we rely entirely on the generosity of the Scottish public."

He added: "Leaving a legacy gift enables us to continue to rescue, rehome and release thousands of injured, defenceless and abandoned animals."

Other charities to which Dr Scorgie left money included the Salvation Army and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.