Horses will be seized in blitz

Bailiffs are being sent in to seize horses illegally tethered on council land in the Black Country.

Sandwell Council said a huge increase in complaints has led to the zero tolerance crackdown, which will see the bailiffs remove the pet horses, which have been kept by families in the borough for generations.

There is a long tradition of horse ownership in Tipton but owners often have no facilities for keeping the animals and tie them up by the side of the road.

Tipton and Wednesbury have been identified as "hotspots" for illegally tethered horses, but the council said there have also been isolated incidents in Oldbury and Rowley Regis.

Tipton Green Councillor Ian Jones said people keeping the horses include old scrap metal merchants' families, canal boatmen and travelling families who have settled in the area.

Councillor Jones said: "This is a cultural thing that has been going on for decades. This is now an animal welfare issue.

"Often these animals are left tethered on grass verges along the road with no food or shelter."