LOOSE horses are once again roaming around a village this morning, causing a nuisance to residents and potential hazard to drivers.

Residents in Central Grange, St Helen Auckland, near Bishop Auckland, have woken to discover the horses grazing on their front lawns and wandered around their parked vehicles.

The Northern Echo:

One concerned resident said: "I counted about ten on this street this morning, the photos I managed to get don't really show the scale of the problem.

"There has been about 30 in total, wandering the streets for the last few days.

"There are busy roads near here and the worry is, if they roam unchecked, they could be involved in a collision.

"They must be someone’s responsibility."

The Northern Echo:

It comes 24 hours after police were called to reports of loose horses on Leazes Lane, at about 6am on Monday, but when officers arrived the animals had already been moved on.

This week's incidents are just the latest in a long list of reports of loose horses causing havoc on roads and damaging and soiling village greens, playing fields and gardens.

Over the years, authorities including Durham Constabulary and Durham County Council have taken steps to try to tackle the problem which has seen them round up hundreds of horses and introduce horse passports and microchipping.

We continue to work with police to try to find a more permanent solution.

Yesterday, Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “We were made aware of horses escaping from a nearby field early this morning and have had wardens on site helping to make the area safe, with the horses having now been moved on.

“We have recently installed a kissing gate on the right of way to try and help reduce incidences of horses getting loose and we continue to work with police to try to find a more permanent solution.”