A man has been saddled with £250 fine after being convicted of being drunk in charge of a horse.
Garry Addision, 42, was pursued by a female police officer in her patrol car when he refused to hand over the reins.
He had been reported by motorists by causing an obstruction after repeatedly stopping and starting his horse and cart.
When a policewoman attended he refused to say who he was and rode off down the street in the town of Prudhoe, Northumberland.
She gave a chase and used a PAVA spray – a synthetic pepper spray – after he refused to come quietly.
Newcastle Upon Tyne magistrates court was told Addission was drunkenly riding home in his horse and carriage.
When police arrived, Addison, who was on a suspended sentence at the time, continued to ride the animal along West Road.
When appended, Addison still refused to cooperate and the officer had to use PAVA spray on him in order to detain him.
Addison, of no fixed abode, admitted being drunk in charge of a horse and obstructing a police officer.
District Judge Kate Meek said: ‘Quite frankly, it’s the first time I have come across a charge of a person being drunk in charge of a horse on a highway.
‘You can see why it’s an offence because horses are big and powerful things. If you’re drunk, you’re not capable of controlling that horse and, if it does go out of control, it’s a danger to everyone around.’
Prosecutor Jonathan Stirland said the officer was called out on June 24 last year after motorists reported the horse and carriage for obstruction.
He continued: ‘The officer saw the defendant with a horse. The officer asked him to say who he was. He then rode the horse and carriage up the road while intoxicated.
The court heard Addison shouted abuse and resisted arrest, prompting the officer to use PAVA spray to detain him.
Jonathan Cousins, defending, said: ‘Mr Addison was riding his horse home. Police wanted to speak to him. He rode off. He gets back on the horse.
‘She follows him in her vehicle. He pulls up and, when the officer pulls in behind him, he’s on his mobile phone to his family trying to seek assistance with the horse or for someone to come and take it.
‘He has stayed out of trouble since this.’
‘It was clear he was intoxicated by his manner. The officer sought to stop him doing that. He was not cooperative. The officer followed in her vehicle and the defendant was eventually apprehended.’