Horseplay cause hold-up

A LOOSE horse brought traffic chaos to Walthamstow and Chingford.

Police were called to the A406 westbound carriageway at the Crooked Billet slip road after reports of a horse careering down the road.

Members of the public contacted police at 4.55pm after spotting the loose animal, and police rushed to the scene.

A police spokesman said officers radioed for colleagues to bring along ropes, to try and catch the beast, which caused all the traffic to come to a complete standstill.

The horse was eventually caught by its owner one hour later, and the traffic gradually started to clear, the spokesman added.

One frustrated car driver telephoned police and said the jam on Monday evening was "the worst" he had ever been in.

Traffic was backed up to the Charlie Brown roundabout in Redbridge.

It is not known where the horse escaped from.

Matters were made worse by the horse not having a bridle on, making it

difficult to catch, said police.

The police spokesman said incidents of horses and cattle straying on to the

A406 were not uncommon, but added that police are not specifically trained

to deal with catching loose animals, and sometimes "make things worse."

The spokesman said: "We don't get training for this sort of thing. I could

tell you lots of stories where police actually make things worse.

"The most bizarre incident was years ago when a horse got on to the M25 at

junction 28, and came off ten miles later at the junction with the M11.

"It caused 15-mile tailbacks and eventually had to be shot with a sedative

as it became quite manic."

08:38 Saturday 22nd February 2003

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