A MAN who witnessed a horse and trap running wild in a village centre feared someone would be killed or be in a serious crash as a result of the incident.

The father-of-two said a number of parked vehicles were hit by the horse's carriage and he had to tell a pedestrian and an elderly cyclist to get out of the way to avoid a collision.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, was travelling through West Auckland on Wednesday afternoon when he saw a dark horse, pulling an empty trap, running along the road with no riders and looking startled.

He said it ran on the A68 and onto Front Street, adding that the horse looked "dangerously out of control, there was no way of stopping it".

Police were called but when officers arrived at the scene they did not find the animal.

The witness who spoke to The Northern Echo said he believed children had been in charge of the horse but had lost control.

He said: "I was travelling through and was shocked by what I saw. My two sons were with me.

"There were several vehicles hit, by the trap, as the horse was all over the road.

"I guess the owners of the horse won't have reported it.

"We had to warn a pedestrian and an elderly gentleman on a bike, that the horse was coming. 

"My fear was a fatality or serious road traffic collision.

"Numerous people were out, witnessed it and were on their phones.

"The whole thing was shocking and bloody dangerous, especially if children were riding it originally.

"I spoke to one of the children who said it was his horse. He was clearly distressed, but shouldn't have been out on it, if he was."

A spokesperson for Durham Police said: "Police were called at 2.45pm on June 2 to reports of a horse running loose on Front Street, West Auckland.

"Officers attended and carried out an extensive search for the horse but were unable to trace it."

The problem of loose horses has been a long-running issue in County Durham, particularly in the Bishop Auckland area, with reports of stray animals causing danger on the roads, grazing on gardens and damaging and soiling playing fields.