A HORSE needed treatment by a vet to remove a dart after being shot by an airgun.

The injured animal was among a group of horses in a field at Pelton House Farm, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

Up to a dozen teenagers are thought to have been in a field, firing air rifles to frighten the animals, when one of the horses was hit.

The animal was left with a dart embedded an inch deep into its hindquarters after the incident at around 6pm on Thursday.