MP Ian Liddell-Grainger this week called on families to watch out for and report damaging or polluting incidents as they set out for their traditional seasonal walks over Christmas and New Year.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said having thousands of extra eyes on the ground could be a great help to the authorities as they struggled to keep the countryside clean and safe.

And he has asked walkers to report any suspected pollution of rivers or beaches to the Environment Agency and to notify police of any environmentally-damaging activities such as off-road driving.

In the past few weeks wardens on the Quantock Hills have reported finding ‘irreparable’ vehicle damage caused by joyriders on Quantock Common, a site of special scientific interest in the heart of the National Landscape.

Steps are now being taken to install boulders to prevent vehicular access and the culprits are being warned they could face prison.

But the reality is that in the absence of visual evidence the chances of the offenders being caught are slim.

Mr Liddell-Grainger represents West Somerset and will be the Conservative candidate for the new Tiverton and Minehead constituency taking in much of the area around Wellington and the Culm Valley.

He said walkers and ramblers should be prepared to record and report any similar incidents they witnessed over the holidays.

“If we can catch these people in the act and only one of them gets handed a prison term that will act as a mighty powerful deterrent to others,” he said.

Mr Liddell-Grainger also appealed for people to report fly-tipping, which was always a particular problem around Christmas, while watching out for any suspected water pollution on beaches and in rivers.

He said: “The Government has recently announced a really fierce crackdown on water pollution and is upping the penalties to reflect this tough, new stance.

“Any illegal sewage discharges, or pollution incidents apparently linked to farm waste, should be reported immediately.”