Five horses killed in road accident in County Durham
Five horses were killed in a road accident in County Durham in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday 2 June).
Nineteen horses escaped on to the A1(M) just after midnight between junctions 60-61 (Bradbury and Bowburn). The road was closed from 12.30am-4.30am.
Two horses were found dead and two more had to be put down at scene by a vet.
“We received multiple calls from motorists reporting up to 20 loose horses on the road early this morning,” said a spokesman for County Durham Police.
“Several animals were injured after being hit by cars or colliding with the central barriers. It is believed they left a secure field when a gate was left open by an unknown person.”
The horses also strayed onto the nearby A689 and caused chaos there.
Police rounded up a further 15 other horses, all of which had injuries of varying degrees to be treated by a vet.
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There was another fatality later on the A688 at St Helen Auckland at 4.45am. But police believe it was unrelated.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.