EXMOOR ponies will soon be doing their bit for conservation thanks to a campaign that hit through a near £10,000 target in one week.

Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT) is set to enlist the herd of animals following its successful crowd funding appeal which raised £9,200 to purchase them.

The 12 ponies will aid conservation by grazing the trust’s nature reserves between the Tees and Tyne.

Additional funds from the Pony Appeal will be set aside for a welfare fund to help contribute towards their ongoing care and management.

Steve Gater, chair of DWT, said: “It is good to know that so many people are interested in their local wildlife. We are privileged to live in a region that has some very special animals and plants, alongside more common species. Durham Wildlife Trust is doing all that it can to protect and conserve wildlife now and for the future.Traditional grazing with Exmoor ponies is one of many actions that the Trust is undertaking. I would like to thank all those who have very kindly contributed to our Pony Appeal.”

Durham Wildlife Trust has identified eight reserves on which the ponies will graze, including sites throughout County Durham and Gateshead and at the Trust’s two visitor centres, Low Barns, near Witton-le-wear, and Rainton Meadows, near Houghton-le-Spring.

More than £4,000 was donated to the campaign from The John Spedan Lewis Foundation while DWT trustee Michael Coates was one of the first to support the appeal with a donation of £250 in memory of his mother who recently passed away.

A donation of £2,500 was also received by Robin and Sue Laycock, DWT members and local wildlife enthusiasts from Darlington, which brought the total raised by the Pony Appeal to more than £10,000 in a week.

Mr Laycock said: “The Pony Appeal is a fantastic cause. Not only does it give these rare-breed ponies a secured future but having them on our local nature reserves will make a significant contribution to nature conservation.

“By their very nature, the ponies will encourage more people, young and old, to get out and visit their local nature reserves and to value their local wild places.”

The rest of the campaign funds came in individual donations.

The native-British breed is also set to return to the Cleadon Hills Local Nature Reserve, in South Shields, as part of a grazing scheme.

For more information or to make a donation to the Pony Appeal call 0191 584 3112 or visit www.durhamwt.com/ponyappeal