Eaglescliffe crash prompts council horse grazing review

The crash happened in August on Durham Lane in Eaglescliffe, near Coatham Beck

A crash involving a car and two horses has brought forward a review of "fly-grazing", where horses are grazed on road verges or abandoned on public or private land.

The couple suffered serious injuries in August in Eaglescliffe, when their car hit the animals, which were loose.

Stockton Council has brought it forward from next year to 19 December following the crash,

One horse was killed in the crash and the other had to be put down.

Norma Stephenson, councillor for Hardwick and Salters Lane, welcomed the move at an executive scrutiny committee, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.  

"The fly-grazed horses are starting to get out of hand in the borough," she said.

"So I think this type of thing needs some control over it."

The law on fly-grazed horses was changed in 2015 in a bid to clamp down on animals being put out to pasture without permission or being abandoned completely on public and private land. 

Under the previous act, an abandoned horse could only be disposed of after 14 days, through sale at market or a public auction. 

But the newer law means fly-grazed horses have to be reported to police within 24 hours, with owners having four days to reclaim their animal. 

It also allows abandoned horses to be sold privately or rehomed.