Pony decapitated by car in forest road crash

Police carried out pre-planned speed checks near the site of the collision

The owner of a New Forest pony has described the "traumatic" experience of discovering the animal had been decapitated in a collision with a car.

Hampshire Constabulary said a driver had reported coming across the pony, which had been hit by another car on the B3078 Roger Penny Way, early on Monday.

Roly Bessant, 76, the commoner who owned the six-year-old free-roaming pony called Lucky Charm, said the scene was "absolutely horrendous".

The New Forest Roads Awareness campaign group said drivers should exercise caution on the forest roads, especially during the darker evenings and early mornings.

Mr Bessant said: "You don't expect that at all - its horrific, one of the worst we've ever had.

"It really affects me and my family. It's traumatic for everyone - I never slept much last night. It just goes on and on."

The New Forest's National Park's free-roaming ponies, pigs, donkeys and cattle are owned by commoners - people who own or occupy land with ancient rights attached.

The crash had initially been treated as a hit-and-run, but police later said the driver had given an incorrect location, which led to a report being sent to Wiltshire Police.

Roly Bessant owned the six-year-old pony

Gilly Jones of New Forest Roads Awareness said the pony's head was discovered 175m away from its body after the crash.

"It has to have been one of the most horrific scenes I've come across. It was just shocking," she said.

"With the New Forest, the livestock have right of way - you must slow down and stop, give them plenty of space and pass slow and wide."

The organisation said there had been 60 road incidents involving New Forest livestock so far this year, with 31 fatalities.

A cow and shetland pony have also been been killed on Roger Penny Way in recent weeks.

A total of 22 ponies were killed on the roads in 2024, according to figures from Verderers of the New Forest - a record low.

Salt on the roads during winter attracts ponies and donkeys on to the highways

Charlotte Belcher of Forestry England said "hazards exist at all times of day" on the forest's roads

She said: "At the moment we're coming into deer rutting season, we'll be coming into longer hours of darkness in October - people should always expect the unexpected.

"They have to have that extra level of vigilance on her forest roads."

Roger Penny Way is a known blackspot for injuries to ponies and other livestock.

In 2023 calls for average speed cameras system for the road were turned down.

Hampshire County Council said at the time that the road did not meet government criteria for speed cameras, which it said "emphasise... human injury".

The latest incidents in the New Forest come as the AA publishes figures showing the number of car accidents involving deer having risen nationally.

The motoring organisation said 1,419 so-called deer strikes took place in 2024 compared to 1,054 in 2021.

Deer are not counted in New Forest livestock animal road accident figures.