A pony once dumped amid piles of rubbish now loves nothing more than cuddling up to his new friend at the RSPCA - a stuffed horse toy.

The little piebald colt was found abandoned on land in Bishop Auckland back in October - aged only four months-old  - and RSPCA inspector Heidi Cleaver was sent to rescue him.

He is now doing well in the care of Felledge Equine Centre in Chester-le-Street and to help him recover during his stay rescuers - who named him Aston - have given him a stuffed horse as company which he loves snuggling up to in his stable.

Heidi said: “He was literally thrown out with the rubbish and nappies at the side of some bins - it was very sad to see and a really callous act.

“But I am pleased to say with lots of love and attention from staff at Felledge, he has come on leaps and bounds and will soon be looking for a new home. Initially Aston had to be placed in isolation so staff gave him a stuffed toy horse as company - which he loved. He was too young to have been away from his mum so he really bonded with the toy.

“He now has a real pony friend in the day called Hamish who he plays with - but at night he still likes to snuggle up to his toy - it is so cute to see.

“He won’t eat without his toy in the stable and loves to snuggle up to the cuddly companion before bedtime.”

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The person responsible for dumping Aston has not been found.

Emma Tallentire, equine centre manager at Felledge, said: “He was so young when he came to us and was lonely and frightened so the toy which we had as a donation was placed in his stable so he had company.

“It worked a treat and Aston loves his new friend. We hope to find him a new home in the coming months but we think his friend may have to go with him too!”

Animal abandonment is on the increase and the RSPCA has seen a shocking 25% rise in the number of abandonment incidents along with a 13% rise in neglect incidents being dealt with by rescue teams. 

The RSPCA’s most recent figures show that to October 2022, RSPCA rescuers dealt with 13,159 incidents of abandonment. This has risen from 10,519 for the same time period the previous year.

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The incidents of neglect being dealt with by teams has also risen, with 30,500 by the end of October 2022, compared to 27,521 over the same period in 2021.

The animal rescue charity believes the cost of living crisis is leading to more people dumping or neglecting their pets and fear this will become much worse. In response, they have launched their Christmas campaign to help raise funds so they can continue their vital work. 

Heidi added: “We need the public's support more than ever. Animal lovers can donate to our Christmas rescue so our call staff, frontline rescuers, centres and branches can work together to help all those animals in need.”