Cordon at beauty spot after nails and glass scattered

Part of a New Forest beauty spot remains sealed off after nails and broken glass were scattered during a horse drive event.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said an area near Balmer Lawn, Brockenhurst, was cordoned off on Sunday to allow the area to be cleared.

The weekend saw the annual Cooper Ride Out event during which horses and traps were driven through the national park by members of the traveller community.

Police also said a pony involved in the event was put down at Ashurst when it suffered a broken leg.

Known as Brockenhurst Beach, the stretch of the Lymington River at Brockenhurst is popular with visitors and was part of the route of the Cooper Ride Out.

Forestry England said eight of its staff were involved in trying to clear up the site on Sunday.

"The car park has been strewn with metal tacks and screws, diesel poured on a number of trees, and broken glass bottles placed in and around the water's edge," a Forestry England spokesperson said.

"Our team are still carrying out checks at the area and will reopen it once these are complete."

A police statement said officers were alerted on Sunday morning about safety concerns for the passing horses.

Commoner and horse welfare campaigner Gilly Jones, who was among those who joined the effort to clear the car park and river, said "thousands of nails" had been thrown, endangering both visitors and animals.

"To the person or people who did this, did you think of the ramifications of what you did?" she said on social media.

"New Forest livestock were there, and we hope that none of them are injured by the nails and broken glass you dropped."

Police also said officers took control of a horse on Saturday afternoon that had suffered a broken leg near Ashurst and was subsequently put down by a vet.

Another horse was caught on a cattle grid on Sunday evening but was freed uninjured

"We understand community concern around animal welfare issues and encourage anyone with information about criminality, whether related to animal welfare or any other criminal activity perpetrated by anyone, to report this to police in the first instance," police said.

It urged people not to speculate about events on social media.

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