Horse rider pays tribute to 'unicorn' killed in Clifton crash

Francesca Kennedy got 11-year-old Bart two years ago

A woman whose horse was killed in a car crash says she has lost her "best friend".

Francesca Kennedy, 20, was injured and her Irish sport horse Bart died in a collision with a Land Rover near Clifton, Cumbria, on 30 December.

Ms Kennedy said Bart, her horse for two years, was a "real-life unicorn" and they had been "inseparable".

She has since raised more than £2,500 for the Great North Air Ambulance which came to her aid.

Ms Kennedy said she had been on a ride with a friend when she was involved in the crash.

She said: "Bart meant everything to me, he really was my best friend. I could tell him anything and I called him my real-life unicorn."

Francesca Kennedy said she had seen Bart twice a day since she got him

Ms Kennedy, who is a carer, said she moved to Cumbria from Lancashire to be close to Bart, adding: "I have seen him twice a day since.

"If we weren't out riding, he was being pampered. He lived like royalty.

"When a rider chooses a horse, you build a bond like no other and it was almost like we had our own language."

The air ambulance flew Ms Kennedy to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough while a specialist vet put Bart down at the scene of the crash due to the horse's injuries.

It was feared the rider had suffered a spinal injury but she was found to have only two torn ligaments, a torn tendon and nerve damage.

She added: "Bart saved my life - he was so special."