AN ACCIDENT in which a stray horse was killed by a car has sparked fears about City of York Council’s legal responsibilities for horses tethered on verges.

Police have confirmed that a car being driven along Malton Road on the evening of Tuesday, March 20, struck a horse, which appeared to be a traveller’s animal which had been tethered on a verge and then broken loose.

A force spokesman said the horse was closed and the car was damaged, but the driver was uninjured. The owner of the horse had not been traced.

Independent City of York Councillor Mark Warters has now written to council officers to raise concerns that horses tethered on council-owned verges may cause a major accident – and to ask about the authority’s legal liabilities if this happened.

He said: “While the council may not condone such unauthorised grazing, given the unwillingness and apparent inability to take action on this matter, it is fair to conclude that it is content with the situation.”

“Therefore, given this grazing is occurring on council land, what is the legal position? The horses have no legal ownership details, are not passported and I would suggest that, because they are on council land with no action being taken to remove them, by default they are to be considered for legal and insurance purposes the responsibility of the council.”

He also asked whether the authority might become liable for such horses welfare, and questioned whether it had to pay for the removal and disposal of such animals when they died.

He said: “Sooner or later, if no action is taken, a major road accident will take place.”

Traffic network engineer Alistair Briggs said the council regularly worked with the owners of horses tethered at the side of the road to try to minimise the travelling public’s concerns.

He said: “The time taken for tethered horses to be relocated can vary depending on circumstances and drivers are advised to slow whenever they are passing horses that are tethered or being ridden.”