THERE was no stopping Molly the pony when it was determined to have a night on the town - until the conscientious animal stopped for a red light.

Molly's restless hooves couldgot her into trouble when she decided to take a look around her home town of Willington, in County Durham.

The Appaloosa had lived happily in a field near Spectrum Leisure Centre for several years.

But on Friday, owner Fiona Rolfe discovered the pony had disappeared.

Fortunately, a resident spotted the animal wandering on the town's Dene estate and was returned to the field.

But by 1am, Molly had escaped a second time.

Mrs Rolfe said: "Armed with torches and rope we went horse hunting, which wasn't easy considering it was very dark and Molly is black.

"We met up with two police patrol cars who had been informed about a loose pony, and one of them took me while my husband went round in his car.

"It was almost comical, as we kept each other up to date with recent sightings."

But when her husband, Andrew, stopped at traffic lights in Commercial Street, he noticed his wayward pony had also stopped for red.

He called her name and the pony walked over to the car and stuck its head through the window "with a quizzical look".

Meanwhile, the police patrol car had become stuck in wet ground after following hoofprints across the green, and had to be pulled out by a police Land Rover.

Mrs Rolfe, of Hutton Terrace, Willington, said: "It's amazing we found her, given the time in the morning and the fact that everyone who we asked if they had seen a horse was coming home from the pubs, non-too-sober.

"I'm still unsure how she got out and I'm doing a thorough fence inspection before she goes back to her field.

"I'd like to thank everyone who helped us, especially the already over-stretched police, who helped avoid what could have been disastrous consequences."

Molly is now in a secure field at Burn Farm, in Willington.

A spokesman for Crook police said: "There was a horse loose and we can confirm we were involved in catching it."