Horse is put down after being hit by Tesco van
MHBG... Warwickshire Hunt, courtesy of Leamington Courier
A HORSE was put down in a village street after its back legs were broken when it was hit by a Tesco delivery van.
The animal – believed to be based at the Warwickshire Hunt Kennels in Little Kineton – was one of a party of horses being exercised through Kineton’s Bridge Street last Tuesday morning at around 10.30am.
Master of the Warwickshire Hunt, Sam Butler, said: “It caused a great deal of distress and it is very lucky no one was injured.
“A horse belonging to the hunt was being exercised in the usual way. Three were being ridden and each one was leading another.
“Unfortunately one was hit by a vehicle resulting in a leg being broken. You can’t mend a broken leg in a horse and it had to be humanely destroyed.
“Fortunately hunt staff were less than half a mile away and were down there to deal with it as quickly as possible.
“They have the experience to deal with incidents like this and it was dealt with extremely quickly to ensure as little distress as possible.”
Mr Butler said the rider of the injured horse had not been injured although all three grooms were extremely shocked and distressed.
“Police were called to the scene and the grooms made statements. It is all in the hands of the hunt’s insurers and the vehicle’s insurers. It was very difficult and distressing,” he said.
The owner of a shop nearby said the first she knew about the incident was when a customer came in and remarked that police were washing blood from the road surface at the bottom of Bridge Street.
“I was told it had been hit from behind by a Tesco delivery van,” she said.
“Apparently the girl riding it was unhurt but was absolutely gutted. It was all dealt with very quickly. It is awful. The hunt horses tend to go out in a group and sometimes one is ridden and a second is led.”
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We were sorry to hear about this sad accident. Our driver acted responsibly throughout and we are in contact with the owner.”
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Weather for Leamington
Thursday 23 May 2013
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Light showers
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