A man has been arrested in connection with a collision in which a horse and its rider were hit on a road.

The rider was injured when she was thrown off the horse and the injuries to the horse were so severe that it had to be euthanised.

The incident took place in Newent on Monday, March 7 March.

The man, aged in his 20s and from Ross-On-Wye, was arrested on Thursday, March 10 on suspicion of dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of an incident and perverting the course of justice.

He has been released under investigation, pending further enquiries.

Officers issued an appeal after the incident which took place at around 4pm on Monday, March 7 in Clifford’s Mesne.

The driver did not stop at the scene.

The vehicle was reported at the time to have been a silver or grey Vauxhall.

At around 4.45pm that day, a short while after the collision, an abandoned vehicle was found alight nearby.

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The 19-year-old rider had been thrown from the horse and required medical treatment.

She is now recovering, but is extremely upset by the ordeal.

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police said: "We understand the upset and anger this incident has caused within the local community and wider close-knit horse-riding community.

"We are aware of comments made online about an arrest having happened prior to this update, but we can confirm this information was incorrect.

"The only arrest made in connection with this incident is this one and as the incident remains subject to an ongoing investigation we ask people to not post any information online which could potentially hinder this process."