Animal charities win Supreme Court challenge on inheritance case.

Three animal charities have won a case at the Supreme Court against a woman cut out of her mother's will.

Heather Ilott was awarded more than £160,000 by the Court of Appeal after her mother Melita Jackson left most of her £486,000 estate to charities.

Mrs Ilott, from Hertfordshire, was originally awarded £50,000, which was later tripled.

Animal charities challenged the ruling and it has been agreed she should receive only the original £50,000.

Mother-of-five Mrs Ilott, from Great Munden, has no pension and was living on state benefits when she was awarded £50,000 by a district judge in 2007.

The sum was increased to £160,000 by the appeal court in 2015.

The Blue Cross, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals argued that the appeal judges "fell into error" when deciding to increase the maintenance payout, which included £143,000 for Mrs Ilott to buy her housing association