TWO ponies were led to safety last night after their stables were set alight.

The ponies, Holly, 22, and Nell, 13, were led to safety as the fire brigade prevented the flames from spreading to nearby derelict buildings in Hundens Lane allotments, Darlington.

The alarm was raised by pigeon fancier John Hindle who spotted a gang of four teenagers running from the scene, where piles of hay in the paddock had been set ablaze.

Mr Hindle attempted to put out the fire using buckets of water until the fire brigade arrived.

Local ward councillor Ian Haszeldine said: "Sadly, this kind of incident is happening all the time.

"I will be putting pressure on council officers to find out when these allotments will get some attention.

"The sooner the new allotments in Central Park are made available to everyone here, the better it will be."

The horses will stay on Coun Haszeldine's allotment until they move to a new stable next week.