A WOMAN is fighting for her life after the car she was in collided with a loose horse near Bishop Auckland.

The 23-year-old, from Woodham, is being treated for multiple injuries in the intensive care unit at Newcastle General Hospital where her condition is said to be critical but stable.

Her boyfriend, a 21 year-old Newton Aycliffe man, was driving the car at the time of the accident.

He was treated at Bishop Auckland General Hospital for shock and minor injuries and released the same night.

The couple had been travelling across the A68 Newton Cap Viaduct towards Crook at about 8.45pm when they collided with a horse, believed to have strayed onto the road from nearby playing fields.

Police have so far been unable to trace the owner of the horse, which was killed instantly.

The tragedy raises concerns about the issue of horses left running wild or tethered alongside roads throughout Durham.

In April, Government Chief Whip Hilary Armstrong called a meeting of police, councils and safety experts in Crook, in her North-West Durham constituency.

She asked cabinet colleague Margaret Beckett for advice on legislation amid growing calls for a crackdown on owners who let horses roam loose.

Durham County Council and Wear Valley District Council both employ horse catchers to round up stray horses reported to them, which are then impounded and owners have to pay about £1,000 to get them back.

A spokesperson for the county council said: "This is a perennial problem in the area, and one we try to tackle.

"The county council has invested significant physical and financial resources in seeking to control the problem and our use of a specialist contractor does seem to be having some impact.

"But we would urge horse owners to take responsibility for their animals and ensure that they cannot escape onto roads.

"Regrettably this incident shows the dangers associated with irresponsible management of horses.

"We have asked our contractors to survey the immediate area in an effort to find out where the horse escaped from."

* A report in The Nothern Echo yesterday incorrectly stated the woman injured in the accident was the horse's rider. We apologise for the error.