Pony mourns New Forest foal killed in hit-and-run near Ipley Crossroads

A POIGNANT picture of a New Forest pony standing over its dead foal have been released in a bid to track down the hit-and-run driver responsible.

The young animal was found in the area of Ipley Crossroads on Saturday morning at around 10.10am with horrific injuries suffered after it was struck in a road traffic accident.

Sharing the image of the mother and foal, Gilly Jones, of the New Forest Roads Awareness campaign, said: “It is not only the owner who mourns. Due to the horrific wounds, he had to be dispatched.”

Ms Jones continued: “We would like to find witnesses to this accident, which happened in the area of Ipley Crossroads.

"As so far no driver has come forward, we would ask anyone who may have dashcam video or saw the accident happen to come forward.”

The accident follows previous graphic images released after a baby donkey was killed in a hit-and-run collision on the B3054 near Hatchet Pond at Beaulieu.

After that incident Commoner Rachael Russell posted online a shock photo showing her two sons, Matthew (9) and William (3), next to their dead baby donkey in an effort to track down the driver involved.

"I hope they look at this photo of my sons with the dead foal and feel ashamed enough to come forward," she said.

The verderers offer a reward of up to £5,000 for information that leads to the conviction of hit-and-run drivers.

Verderers clerk Sue Westward said: “Sadly at this time of year we often see a number of accidents involving young animals.

“Young foals particularly can be very playful and unpredictable – they have no awareness of the dangers that roads can pose, so it is up to motorists to be even more careful and mindful of the potential dangers when they are driving on Forest roads."

Anyone with information about the accident should contact the verderers on 023 8028 2052.