ANNA Ryder Richardson is leaving her Pembrokeshire zoo behind, as she prepares for a new life in France.

The former TV presenter and interior designer told the Daily Mail she will leave Manor Park Wildlife Park and its menagerie of animals for good.

It follows news she is divorcing her husband Colin MacDougall, with whom she set up the wildlife park in 2008.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the 53-year-old said: "The stresses and strains and expense of running our wildlife park have destroyed our marriage.

"I’m moving lock, stock and barrel to France, and I’m getting divorced.

"I still well up thinking about all the beautiful Welsh countryside and the nature.

"I had the best of times there, but they became the hardest of times.

Anna and Colin bought the dilapidated Manor Park site almost 10 years ago, and the pair have transformed it into one of the county's must-visit destinations for families and tourists alike.

Improvements included a £300,000 rhino house, and the introduction of a range of animals, including lions, zebra and parrots.

The pair also starred in ITV show Anna’s Welsh Zoo.

But the mother-of-two admitted it was a naive decision to buy the wildlife park.

She said the pressure of running the business took its toll on her marriage.

She also said her family also felt they "became like one of the specimens in the zoo, with everybody coming to peer at us".

Anna said she still loves the zoo and will leave it with a heavy heart.

"The rhino weighs two tons but I scratch him hard on his underbelly and he lifts his leg up so I can do it more,’ she says, smiling.

"But Colin will continue to manage it."