A WEST Devon pony training centre was presented a top award by EastEnders' bad-boy 'Nasty Nick' at a ceremony at the House of Lords.

The Dartmoor Pony Training Centre, at Widecombe in the Moor, was presented with the best training workshop award at the awards ceremony organised by Wetnose Animal Aid, for the work it does with Dartmoor ponies and in particular educating people in handling feral Dartmoor ponies.

Natalie Torr and Kathryn Hulland from the centre, were given the award by John Altman who plays the EastEnders villain. He gave a short speech about the importance of wild pony education.

Kathryn Hulland, fundraising officer for the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre, said: 'Wetnose Animal Aid is an organisation that raises money for smaller organisations across the UK. Wetnose donated us money a few years ago, so they knew about us, and they decided to give us the award.

'It is really good to get recognition, as we are currently trying to promote our workshop in October and now it is an award winning workshop it will really help.'

Nick Knowles, actors Lorraine Chase and Jenny Seagrove, also showed their appreciation for the training centre's work, and Kathryn said she hoped that through the event, Dartmoor Pony Training Centre could find itself a patron.

A tough winter means the training centre has taken on many more ponies than expected, and it is therefore asking people to get in contact if they are able to offer homes for them.

The centre will be running its award winning workshop in October. The five-day workshop will teach people how to handle a feral pony and get it to a stage where it can be led around and touched.

For more information, email [email protected]">[email protected] or visit the website http://www.dptc.org.uk">www.dptc.org.uk

RIGHT: Kathryn Hulland and Natalie Torr show off their award with actor John Altman.