Four ponies killed at New Forest black spot 'a very sad end to the year'

FOUR ponies killed in a New Year’s Eve collision at a notorious New Forest blackspot was “a very sad end to the year”.

Verderers clerk Sue Westward lamented the deaths, caused by a Land Rover Discovery on the B3078 Roger Penny Way at around 8.45pm on Thursday evening, which were attended by the same agister who dealt with three donkeys killed there two weeks prior.

Agister Andrew Napthine confirmed the driver of the vehicle was local and unhurt in the crash.

“All four of the ponies died at the scene of the accident,” he said.

“Drivers do need to be more aware that when the roads have been salted it does seem to draw the animals onto the roads to lick up the salt.

“If you are driving in the Forest at night in the winter you should be even more cautious about encountering animals.”

Three donkeys were killed on the same road on 12th December, followed by the deaths of two sheep on 28th December.

Verderers clerk Sue Westward said: “This accident was a very sad end to the year for us and particularly for Andrew who also dealt with the deaths of the three donkeys just a couple of weeks ago.

“It was awful for the commoner and no doubt very upsetting for the driver of the vehicle.”

“It is difficult to know exactly what we can say, except to just keep repeating the same message to drivers – please slow down and expect to meet livestock on the roads day and night. They do not have road sense or any awareness of the dangers so it is up to the drivers to change their behaviour.”

The crash happened on a 40mph section of the road north of Brook. Police tweeted a photograph of the badly damaged Land Rover Discovery, which had to be recovered from the scene.

The spokesperson for Hampshire police said: “The driver of the vehicle was spoken to at the scene and, having carried out a thorough investigation, no further action was taken against them.

"We can also confirm that the driver was not speeding at the time of the incident.”