GOVERNMENT minister Hilary Armstrong is pressing councils and police to act over a stray horse menace plaguing communities in her constituency.

The Chief Whip is also asking cabinet colleague Margaret Beckett for advice on legislation as calls grow for a crackdown on irresponsible owners who let animals run wild.

Ms Armstrong, the MP for North-West Durham, called senior officers from Durham County Council, Wear Valley District Council and Bishop Auckland police to a meeting in Crook's Elite Hall.

The MP stepped in after people in Hunwick complained that horses running loose from an old railway line caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to a village cricket field, terrorised walkers and kept people awake at night.

Both councils have employed horse catchers in recent months, but they can only act if the horses are on their own land.

Ms Armstrong said after the meeting: "We have agreed that the councils and the police will take responsibility in the short term. In the long term, I am writing to the chief constable and the chief executive of both councils urging them to address this issue as part of a community safety policy.

"I am also asking Margaret Beckett, who is Minister for Rural Affairs, whether existing legislation can be used more effectively, or we need additional legislation to tackle this problem.

"These are horses which are running wild and people are frightened of them. Some of them have been abandoned but they have all belonged to somebody at some stage."

Hunwick's county councillor Brian Myers said: "It was a very productive meeting. It is time something was done.

"With the amount of council tax that people are paying now they have the right to a better response to the problem of stray horses than they have had in the past."

District councillor Anne Newton said: "It will cost £3,000 to repair the cricket field and there is still a question of whether it will be playable this year. We are determined to act over these irresponsible owners."