A 25-year-old man is fighting for his life after a car in which he was a passenger collided with a stray horse on a dark country road early yesterday.

The 23-year-old woman driver was also hurt in the accident, on an unlit stretch of the A688 West Auckland to Staindrop road at Wackerfield, near Evenwood Gate.

The horse, believed to be a stray, was killed instantly and police have been unable to trace its owner. The tragedy raises concerns about the issue of horses left running wild or tethered alongside roads throughout Durham.

Last month, Government Chief Whip Hilary Armstrong called a meeting of police, council and safety experts at Crook in her North-West Durham constituency. She is asking cabinet colleague Margaret Beckett for advice on legislation amid growing calls for a crackdown on owners who let horses roam loose.

Police appealed for witnesses to yesterday's accident, which happened half a mile west of the Sun Inn at 12.20am.

Firefighters cut the roof off the couple's Renault Clio to allow the man to be lifted from the passenger seat on a spinal board.

He was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital then transferred to Middlesbrough General with back, neck and internal injures. His condition was said to be critical last night.

The driver was treated for minor injuries at Darlington. Both victims are from Staindrop.