A high-profile campaign to reduce fly tipping has been launched with the unexpected support of a woman who freed a pony trapped in a dumped settee.

As the multi-agency partnership set up a public information hub on the outskirts of Tavistock, one of the first people to stop for advice was Harley Carpenter, of Horrabridge, who stressed the importance of not dumping waste illegally.

Harley freed a Dartmoor pony foal which had its head trapped in the bottom of a settee abandoned on Dartmoor lowland on Plasterdown near Tavistock.

She explained: “I was with my friend having a lovely drive across Dartmoor when I saw a settee just lying on the ground and a foal which seemed to be trapped in it. I jumped out and saw the pony, which was only seven or eight months old, embedded in the bottom of the settee through a hole in the bottom up to its shoulders. It was frightened and struggling. Because we were going camping on the moor we had all the gear, so I got a camping knife and cut the fabric around him until he could get out and he ran off. He was not hurt, but very stressed.

“So, when we saw these guys here telling people not to dump stuff, I thought I’d tell them about it. I’m fully behind this. It’s really bad to just throw your rubbish out in the countryside. It can kill animals. If we hadn’t been passing that pony then it could easily have died – maybe killed by predators or starved. It’s so wrong.”

The partnership fighting against fly-tipping comprises enforcement and investigatory officers from voluntary, local authority and watchdog organisations who set up a public information site on Tuesday (October 14) on the large lay-by at Tiddy Brook estate.

PC Jenny Mashford, Tavistock community police officer, said the police role was to assist other authorities if illegal waste disposal was taking place, by taking details of suspects for a potential civil prosecution by West Devon Borough Council, for instance.

She said instances of fly tipping recently included alongside the road between Tavistock and Princetown, on the old Yelverton airfield (Harrowbeer) and by Burrator Reservoir. Material included was often three-piece suites and second-hand building materials for which there is a charge for disposing of legitimately. There have been an increase in dumping of furniture since charging was introduced and Tavistock civic amenity site stopped accepting them.

Sue Smillie, Environment Agency (EA) waste prevention lead, said: “I strongly advise all householders and businesses to dispose of their unwanted materials at either a local recycling centre, or by recycling and reusing them or by employing a licensed waste carrier (disposer). They will be liable for prosecution and/or fine if they use an unregistered carrier when they are identified as the owners of the fly tipped waste. If the carrier is not listed on the EA website, then they are not legitimate.”

Cllr Jamie Bridgewater, West Devon Borough Council lead for fly-tipping prevention, said: “As well as the unsightly nature, pollution potential and hazard to wildlife of waste tipping, there are cost implications for us all as taxpayers. Also, offenders can be fined £50,000 by magistrates.”