A woman rider believes she has tracked down the hit-and-run driver who struck her horse and nearly dumped her in a canal.

Beverley Bata did her own detective work when police told her they could not take action.

She was riding her 13-year-old mare, B, along a bridlepath near to Calverley Wood, off Apperley Lane, Apperley Bridge, on Sunday afternoon, when the accident happened.

A young male driver overtook her as she crossed a canal bridge and his car caught the horse’s back leg.

“There clearly wasn’t enough room for anyone to overtake, even though I had moved in as far as I could and stood still.

“I am very cautious on the roads, and B is bombproof in traffic. But as this lad drove past he hit my horse’s back leg. She reared up and then kicked out at the passenger side of the car.

“A man walking his dog thought I was going over the bridge into the canal, but I managed to stay on my horse. The car failed to stop, but as it drove away I got an image of it in my head, and I also thought I recognised the driver.”

Mrs Bata, 46, rode back to her livery yard nearby and contacted the police.

She said: “They took some details and gave me a crime number, but they said there was nothing they could do about it because it was a horse.”

Mrs Bata, a mobile hairdresser, of Agincourt Drive, Eldwick, made her own inquiries through Facebook, her customers and her son, and identified the young driver.

She said she told police the driver’s name, and gave them a description of the car and the registration number.

“They said they couldn’t do anything about it. They said: ‘It’s only a horse.’ Mrs Bata added: “I am angry. This was a hit and run by a driver going too fast. My horse’s leg is cut and swollen. But it could have been a lot worse.”

She urged motorists to slow down and take care when driving past horses.

Acting Superintendent Suzanne Akeroyd, of Airedale and North Bradford Police, said: ‘‘This lady has not had the level of service she should be entitled to expect, and we apologise to her.

“This was a reportable road traffic collision and an officer should have attended to speak to her and investigate the matter. We will be making arrangements to see her and take appropriate action.”

  • Read the full story Thursday’s T&A