Man killed by horse in Haslingden

A 51-year-old man has been killed after being kicked by a horse in Lancashire.

Just before 6pm last night - Wednesday October 31 - police were called by ambulance crews treating the man, who was seriously injured in the back of a horsebox on the A56 at Haslingden.

The man, from Middleton in Greater Manchester, was found to be unconscious with a serious head injury, trapped in the rear of the vehicle together with the horse.

Officers were told that while the vehicle was moving, the horse had become agitated and had dislodged an enclosure designed to support it during transportation. When the man entered the compartment, the horse kicked him.

The man's wife then tried to help her husband but was also repeatedly kicked. She sustained a fractured femur and chest injuries. The couple’s daughter was also there and is being treated at hospital for shock.

An emergency vet was called out to the scene and administered a tranquilliser to the horse, sedating it to enable the man to be treated by ambulance crews.

Sadly, he had sustained serious head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The horse was transported a short distance to a nearby equestrian centre.