A FAMILY feared for their lives when they witnessed a stallion savagely attacking a pony.

Graham Chalk and his family were walking on a footpath just outside Bishop Auckland, County Durham, when they noticed a badly injured pony.

Moments later, the large stallion ran up to the creature and inflicted more injuries.

Mr Chalk, from nearby Toronto, said: "I noticed there was a small, Shetland pony nearby, which had one leg raised, broken and there were open wounds on its flanks.

"My partner went to ring the police to see if somebody could come out to help the animal, and then a huge stallion appeared from the next field.

"This proceeded to attack this tiny scrap of a pony and bit it. My youngest child, who's eight, was hysterical.

"I frightened the stallion off by throwing rocks near it, but it obviously intended to kill the little horse and the only thing between it and the pony was me and my children. This horse was huge, it was wall to wall muscle."

The pony, attacked in a field near Newton Cap Viaduct on Tuesday night, was so badly injured it had to be destroyed.

Last month, a man needed hospital treatment after being bitten by an untethered horse near Bishop Auckland Rugby Club. Durham County Council has attempted to tackle the problem of stray horses in the area by employing a specialist company to pick up and impound stray horses on its land.

A spokesman for the council said it has asked the company to inspect the land to see if is owned by them.