Five Horses Killed By Train Near Darlington

10 February 2015, 11:00 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Five horses have been killed after they were hit by two trains in County Durham when they wandered onto a railway line.

Train services between Middlesbrough and Darlington were suspended  earlier this morning after Northern Rail confirmed that animals were on the line near Dinsdale, outside of the County Durham town.

It is not yet known how the horses got onto the line, near the Teesside Airport station, but the line has now reopened.

A British Transport Police spokesman said:
"We were called to the railway line near Teesside Airport station at 7.20am on Tuesday, after reports a number of horses had been struck by two trains.

Colleagues from Durham Police and the Environment Agency have also been in attendance.

Five horses were killed. Two have been helped from the track, in the care of the RSPCA.

It is not clear how the horses came to be on the line."

A Northern Rail spokeswoman said:
"Two trains were involved going in opposite directions.

They were the 6.58am Darlington to Saltburn and the 6.24am Saltburn to Newcastle.

Thankfully there are no reports of any passengers being injured however one of the trains has been damaged. Service recovery has now begun and the line has reopened."