ACTION NEEDED OVER HORSES

AFTER yet another incident involving loose horses on a major local public road - this time causing two crashes and severe traffic disruption on the M60 slip road near Great Portwood Street (December 12) - is it not time for strict regulations of who owns horses and in what circumstances?

I can appreciate that some horses are determined escape artists and jump out of fields or take advantage of weak spots in hedges, fencing, etc, but whoever is in charge has the responsibility of making sure that animals do not escape into traffic and create a hazard. Hedges or fences need to be properly maintained and made secure, and horses and their living quarters regularly attended to.

There is a national problem with large numbers of poorly managed horses, and these animals not uncommonly stray on roads, creating danger to themselves and road users.

One can appreciate that the Brexit crisis at the moment has Parliament fully preoccupied and in a state of controversy, but would it be beyond the government, when the situation settles down, to make private horse owners conform to some kind of screening and licensing or registration arrangement? Katherine Watson Briarlands Close Bramhall