THE owner of Saltburn Riding School says people are trying to force his business out of town.

Residents living in Howard Drive and Marske Road, in Marske, no longer want a line of about 20 horses trekking past their homes on the way to the beach. They say they are fed up with the manure, grass damage and general inconvenience they cause.

Countryside officials from Redcar and Cleveland Council have been called in to try to find alternative routes for the horses, and six have been drawn up.

But three of these involve the horses being taken through the Hazelgrove allotments, which are owned by Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council, and allotment holders are strongly against the proposal.

Riding school owner Tim Hill said: "I believe some of the people in Saltburn don't want us and would like us to relocate. But the riding school has been here 50 years and we cater for people from all walks of life, including school riding clubs, semi-handicapped children and we have underprivileged teenagers from youth inclusion schemes coming here.

"We bring business to the area because parents use the shops here after they drop off their children."

He said the route currently taken by horses from the school was completely legal, along a bridleway and then a road.

"The best alternative route would be through the allotments. After that, the only option which seems to be left would mean us going along a main road, which is obviously far too dangerous."

But allotment chairman Brian Jefferson says having the horses coming through the allotments would put lives at risk.

"We already have cars, invalid carriages, bikes and pedestrians coming along through the allotments on the 7ft-wide one-mile track," he said.

"Having the horses coming through would be totally unsafe and at least 200 of our members have told me they are against having a total of 260 horses, if you take into account all journeys made by each of the horses, trekking through our allotments every weekend."

The council is continuing to look at the feasibility of all routes for the horses