WILDLIFE trust volunteers have thanked all those who contributed to an appeal to purchase ponies as part of a conservation project.

A £9,200 target has been reached enabling Durham Wildlife Trust to buy 12 Exmoor ponies to graze on its nature reserves to help grassland management.

Apart from the money to buy the ponies, a further £800 has been set aside to help pay for the care and management of the Exmoors.

The arrival of the string of ponies will help with reserve maintenance, freeing up trust staff for other duties.

Trust chair Steve Gater said: “It is good to know that so many people are interested in their local wildlife.

“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.”

The ponies will be bought from the Moorland Mousie Trust, a charity established to provide a secure future for the excess foals taken from Exmoor, in Devon, each year.

Exmoors are hardy, native breed ponies, perfectly suited for conservation grazing.

Their double-layered winter coat means that they can withstand hostile winter conditions.

But it is their ability to graze on encroaching grasses which means they naturally improve the species diversity of the sites they inhabit.

Further donations can be made to the appeal by ringing the trust, on 0191-584-3112.