A MAN has been jailed after a horse was strangled to death on a Bridlington beach in front of horrified holidaymakers.
David Clancy, 35, pretended to save the animal, which he had actually raced with a cart in and out of the sea on North Beach, Bridlington, until it was exhausted.
But, following a "complex" investigation by Bridlington-based police officers and the RSPCA, Clancey was forced to admit causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Prosecuting for the RSPCA, Philip Brown said witnesses were left "shocked and in horror" by the animal's death, which happened during a warm summer evening while the beach was still busy.
Mr Brown said: "One witness was shocked and in horror when he saw the animal in the deep sea. It was very distressed.
"It was still attached to the cart for a significant period of time as it struggled in ever deeper water. People were left shocked and distressed."
Beverley Magistrates' Court heard how Clancy, an experienced horse handler, and a group of other men, were racing horses and carts on the beach on July 19.
Clancy, who weighs about 15st, rode in the back of the cart, in "large circles" for about 30 minutes in and out of the water.
When the water reached the animal's shoulders, it panicked and started to thrash around in a desperate attempt to get out of danger.
"It had its neck just above the water, its shoulders were totally submerged," said Mr Brown.
"The horse stumbled and disappeared below the surface and then came back up, this happened on two occasions."
Meanwhile, holidaymakers made calls to the police and RSPCA for help. They arrived on the scene within minutes.
Many said they thought the horse looked tired as it was forced into the water by Clancy, who is thought to be a traveller.
Other holidaymakers heard screaming on the beach and watched the tragedy unfold from their hotel windows.
A post mortem revealed how the panic-stricken horse was strangled by the reins, causing a major brain haemorrhage. It also suffered cuts to its legs and upper body.
Clancy was arrested but told RSPCA Inspector Geoff Edmond he had not been part of the horse racing gang and had been trying to rescue the animal after he heard screams from people on the beach and thought someone was drowning.
He was forced to admit his guilt after scores of witnesses came forward.
Defending Clancy, who runs a boxing gym in a "deprived area" of Bradford, Ed Cunner said: "The defendant did not know there is effectively a sand bar running parallel to the promenade and beyond that, the water level drops significantly.
"That is the mistake the defendant made, taking the horse beyond the sand bar, which was not visible at the time."
Sentencing Clancy to four months in jail, District Judge Fred Rutherford told him: "Families witnessed the terrible incident and the death was a consequence of your actions.
"The horse, to others, looked tired and yet you drove that animal further and further into the sea.
"There was absolutely no need. It is beyond belief."
Clancy was also banned from owning or being part of the management of horses for life.
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