Sanctuary owner offers to help give dead horse floating in river a proper burial
The owner of a horse sanctuary has offered his services to help bring the saga of a dead horse in a river to an end.
Billy Wilson, who owns Tettenhall Horse Sanctuary, has said that his sanctuary is the only cemetery with planning permission to give the horse currently floating in the River Stour a decent burial. The horse has been seen in and around the River Stour since the middle of March, seen for several weeks at Wordsley Waterfall and now in an unspecified location somewhere downstream after being reported to have left the waterfall on Wednesday.
Efforts to recover the horse have faltered, with different agencies saying it is not their responsibility to remove the horse, except in cases of flooding.
Mr Wilson, who is best known as the organiser of the Tough Guy event in Perton, said horses were a passion of his and he had wanted to help after reading about the plight of the horse.
He said: “I read about it in the paper and saw that various people were passing it on to each other and nobody seems to want to take responsibility for the job, which could cost about £3,000 to £5,000 when you get all the bits.
“It’s not the easiest place to get to as it’s in a valley which is beautiful and people walk their dogs, but isn’t near anything.
“You’ll need a lot of manpower and equipment when you find it and locate it, so I am happy to help locate it and bury it.”
Mr Wilson said that on Tuesday, he and his daughter spent three hours looking for the remains of the horse in the river, fearing the pollution and possible disease to anyone who ventures into the water.
He said: “I want to make sure it’s given a proper burial and stop it from making children ill as it’s going to have flies and other things on it right now.
“I’d like to see more done to help with it and I’ve written to Gavin Williamson, the MP for that area, to ask him to invite the Prime Minister down to help make this happen.
“Horses are my passion in life and I’ve worked with so many over the years and they are such lovely creatures, so I hope something can be done for it.”
To get in touch with Mr Wilson, email thehorsesanctuarytettenhall@gmail.com
The Environment Agency and South Staffordshire Council have been contacted for a comment.
