Dumped rubbish sparks moorland drama

Outraged locals are becoming increasingly frustrated by the flytipping in the area

A horse was injured after falling in rubble left by unscrupulous fly tippers who blocked a country lane with mounds of waste material.

The horse belongs to a 27 year old front line nurse from Saddleworth, who stopped to talk to walkers whose path had been blocked by the rubble at High Lee Lane, Delph.

The nurse, who did not want to named, said: “The road was completely blocked and was unsafe for us to pass.

We were talking about how bad the mess actually while the walkers  were on the ground trying to find an address amongst the rubble. 

“The wind picked up and blew some of the rubble in our direction which frightened my horse. She spun around in panic, slipped and fell over backwards into the rubble with myself still on her back.

“I was thrown into the rubble and my horse landed on my leg (luckily she didn’t put her full weight on it so my leg is ok). My horse then was struggling to get back to her feet as the rubble underneath her was sliding around. 

“The rubble was full of broken glass, broken pottery from sanitary works including sinks, toilets and tiles, sharp metal work and nails sticking out of wooden planks.

“My horse was petrified and covered in wounds which required immediate medical attention by an on call emergency vet.

"I had to arrange for immediate transport to take us back home to the stables in order for the wounds to examined. It was not safe to ride back home with the state that the wounds.”

The nurse added: “She’s on stable rest for a few days and I have to assess how she gets on otherwise if she gets worse then she has to go Leahurst Equine Hospital in Chester to have the wound surgically washed out so the bone doesn’t get infected since it’s on a joint. 

“She’s on antibiotics, pain relief, and has her back leg in dressings. She’s a 23 year old warmblood, so considered a fairly older horse.”

Outraged locals are becoming increasingly frustrated saying their pretty countryside area has turned into a hot spot for flytipping in recent weeks. The incident was reported to Oldham Council. 

A businessman who was driving the route to work said:”I just couldn’t  believe the amount of rubble blocking the lane. There was no way of getting through. It was a real mess.”

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