A WOMAN dog walker has endangered lives by deliberately sabotaging a fence surrounding a field housing horses.

Police say the woman, not thought to be the only culprit, damaged the fence in Danesbury Park Road, Welwyn, causing six horses to escape onto the busy road on Wednesday of last week.

As a result of her actions, eight police officers were called to assist with returning the horses to their owners and closing surrounding roads to help prevent any accidents.

Pc Ben Satchfield, from the Welwyn Rural Neighbourhood Team, was one of the officers called to the scene.

He said: “I find it very worrying that someone, or a group of people, are trying to deliberately inconvenience the horse owners and the police and it is totally unacceptable.

“It’s not just criminal damage – the consequences could be far worse.”

He added: “Over the past few weeks, the horses have escaped onto the highway.

“They could have caused a vehicle to crash.

“Equally they could be a danger to pedestrians if they are scared, and at the very least they could cause damage to residents’ property.”

Pc Satchfield added he would like to know who is responsible for the sabotage so the person/s could be dealt with.

If you have any information call Pc Satchfield on 01707 638012.