A HORSE bailiff will finally start tackling the problem of animals tethered illegally on roadside verges around York in the New Year.

City of York Council hopes the official will help prevent further accidents involving horses that have broken free and strayed on to roads. The Cabinet agreed to appoint a bailiff in the spring, but the contract only went out to tender in September.

Now Steve Waddington, Assistant Director of Housing and Community Safety, has revealed that, following the submission of tenders, officers have carried out interviews and sent a letter of appointment to the successful business to start operating in the new year. The bailiff could be required to check on public land, post notices and remove illegally tethered horses as requested by the council in line with current legislation and, where legally possible, act under contract on behalf of private landowners.

Osbaldwick councillor Mark Warters, who has been campaigning for action to deal with the problem of tethered horses – particularly in the Murton area and on the A166 York to Stamford Bridge road, where there have been a number of serious accidents involving stray horses – said of the appointment: “It’s about time. Now I hope that the bailiffs will adopt a zero tolerance attitude, without any kind of political interference, to ensure all these tethered horses are removed from verges once and for all before someone is killed.”