THE RSPCA has hit out at the practice of tethering horses throughout Yorkshire and the North-East.

It says greater legal protection is needed to shield them from avoidable injuries or even death.

Last year, 1,786 people contacted the charity after spotting a horse they feared was suffering.

The new campaign in this region is calling for a rigorous code of conduct for owners who insist on keeping their horses tethered.

Victims of tethering include a neglected pony from Gateshead discovered in excruciating pain after his rope bit into his neck; a colt strangled by its chain when it slipped down a steep embankment at Bishop Auckland and a Shetland pony in Newcastle which died when its tether tangled with that of another horse and left it unable to breath.

Dave Millard, Yorkshire and North East regional superintendent, said: "While the welfare of many of these animals is clearly compromised, legally we are powerless to act unless we can prove that unnecessary suffering has taken place.

"This is a legal term that requires the backing of an independent vet and must be proved beyond all reasonable doubt. Ultimately it means we cannot act until an animal has suffered."

The RSPCA has written to every local authority, police authority and MP in the region asking for support.