FAMILIES using a Bradford park are having to contend with loose horses and their droppings, a worried councillor has said.

Around five or six horses have been left to roam Bradford Moor Park each day for nearly a week, local councillor Mohammed Shafiq (Lab, Bradford Moor) said.

He said it appeared they were being dropped off each morning and picked up each afternoon, but that exactly who owned the horses remained a mystery.

Cllr Shafiq said the animals didn't appear to be distressed or aggressive, but that the mounting level of horse manure across the park was beginning to concern people.

He said it was proving a particular annoyance to parents taking their young children to play in the park's popular playground.

He said: "The good thing about the playground is that it is fenced off, so they won't get into the playground, but the surrounding area is filled with muck and children are putting their feet in it. It becomes quite a hazard for families.

"Often when children are running around, they don't always see what is on the ground. It's just not a pleasant atmosphere to be around when it is like that."

Cllr Shafiq said the horses were also occasionally getting on to nearby Killinghall Road, making him fear for the safety of motorists as well as the animals themselves.

He said: "At a busy traffic time, it is an accident waiting to happen."

Cllr Shafiq said over the weekend he had been getting an increasing number of phone calls from residents complaining about the situation, and he would now be contacting the relevant Council department to ask them to clear up the mess.

But he said he also wanted to appeal directly to the owners of the horses, to ask them to stop letting the animals loose in the park.

"My request is to the horse owners to take control of their horses," he said.

"They are wandering about in a park and on the road and it is causing a danger to members of the public."