Drunk carriage driver in charge of 'inebriated' horse fined

A Kent man has been arrested for driving a carriage when drunk. But police officers were in for a novel excuse when the man told them it was his horse that was inebriated.

The 61-year-old man was spotted by police driving his horse and carriage from Masons Hill, Bromley, to the Chequers pub, Southborough Lane, Bickley.



The officers followed the vehicle after noticing the driver was slumped in the carriage as it zig-zagged across the road on the evening of 10 July. The man fell out of the carriage at the pub, telling police: "Yes, I'm drunk, my horse is drunk — so what are you going to do about it?"

He soon found out when officers arrested him on suspicion of being drunk in charge of a horse and carriage on a highway. He was taken to Bromley police station for questioning and issued with a £50 fixed penalty notice. The horse was ridden home by a friend.