Owner Fined for Allowing Horses to Stray Onto A3 and Cause Severe Injuries

Published on: 13 Jan, 2017
Updated on: 18 Jan, 2017

Surrey Police is urging livestock owners to ensure their animals do not pose a danger to road users following a crash on the A3 which left two horses dead and caused severe injuries to motorists.

The owner of the land on which the horses were grazing was sentenced at court this week and fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £700.

Rosemary Gibson-Miller, aged 49, of Church Hill, Pyrford, was found guilty at Redhill Magistrates Court on the January 11 of the offence of allowing an animal to stray onto the highway.

The incident happened on December 16, 2015 at 3.40am near Esher when the two horses strayed from Surrey Grazing, based in Oxshott, and walked onto the southbound carriageway where they were in collision with four vehicles. One of the casualties was a motorcyclist who was transporting blood and platelets to Frimley Park Hospital.

Four people suffered life-changing injuries as a result, while the road was closed for around six hours causing major delays for motorists.

Sergeant Eddie Ryan of Surrey Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “This was a catastrophic collision was has resulted in life-changing injuries for four people and led to the deaths of two horses. It also caused huge delays across the area for more than six hours while the road was closed.

“It is a stark reminder that if you own livestock, or allow livestock to graze on your land near a road that they must be kept in a secure area or there could be tragic consequences.”

Responses to Owner Fined for Allowing Horses to Stray Onto A3 and Cause Severe Injuries

A Tatlow Reply

January 13, 2017 at 1:40 pm

Barely more than £1,000 fine for four severely injured people and two dead horses, major road closure with emergency service expenses and a hospital without life-saving supplies. Why was the Surrey Grazing boundary not stock proof?
Dave Middleton Reply

January 13, 2017 at 2:28 pm

It has been my experience that a great many horse owners have, at best, an indifferent attitude to their responsibility to keeping their animals secure.

I have lost count of the number of times I have come upon horses running loose on roads, including the A3, the M3 and many local roads, such as the A320 Woking Road at Guildford, posing a real danger to themselves and road users as, sadly, this case has proven.

I never ever came across a genuine instance, despite claims by the owners, where the horses had been let out deliberately by “someone”. It was always a case of inadequate fencing. Frequently non-stock-proof hedges with holes in them, a single strand of ancient barbed wire, or rotten posts that break off at ground level as soon as the horse pushed against it.

Well done to Surrey Police for finally prosecuting an owner and I say there should be more vigorous enforcement in future.
Boris Tarpits Reply

January 16, 2017 at 8:24 pm

As one of many who were stuck in traffic due to this, though in my case it caused me to miss a medical appointment for which I was charged, I shall be taking Surrey Grazing to the “small claims court”, to recover the cost their negligence caused me.