GYPSY children caused traffic and pedestrian chaos when they raced a horse and cart at high speed through Middlewich before colliding with a wall.

Residents in Lewin Street came out of their homes to help the injured children who had spilled out of the cart into the middle of the road.

One young boy was taken to Leighton Hospital with a broken leg and several children, believed to be between the ages of about eight and 14, were treated for their injuries at the scene of the accident.

The horse, which collided with the side of a house and iron railings outside Hall and Co builders merchants, suffered serious injuries and had to be put down. The cart split in half.

Lewin Street was closed for almost two hours to vehicles and pedestrians while police cleared the road and paramedics attended to the injured.

The accident happened just after 7.30pm on Friday night when householders reported that a group of around 10 young children seemed out of control riding a horse and cart through the town.

Anthony Evans, of Lewin Street, said: "There was a big bang outside and then I heard screaming.

"I looked out of the window and saw about 10 kids in the middle of the road. I think some had jumped out before the collision but others were hurt.

"I rushed out to help and went back to phone for an ambulance. Within minutes about six or seven police cars were here.

"The children were all very distressed and upset and the horse looked in a bad way. It was a tragic accident.

"I think the horse went out of control because it was travelling too fast. It was unconscious for a while and then they managed to get it back on its feet."

A spokesman from the White Horse Pub, Lewin Street, said: "People from the pub went out to see what was going on and to help.

"What the children were doing was very dangerous. They were motoring down the street in a horse and cart. If pedestrians had been walking along the path at that time they could have been seriously injured."

A Middlewich Police spokesman said: "The cart was being driven at high speed when the horse bolted and hit a wall.

"Many of the children were injured and all were in shock. A woman also had a fit at the scene of the accident.

"A veterinary nurse was called to put the horse down because it was dying from the injuries it sustained."

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