New Forest pony is hit and killed by car just 48 hours after heartbreaking photos show her standing over its foal which was left to die by the roadside

A New Forest pony was killed by a hit-and-run driver just 48 hours after a heartbreaking photograph was taken of it standing over its foal which had died the same way.

The mare was hit and killed along with another foal at the same spot.

It means four New Forest ponies have now been killed in ten days along a one-mile stretch of road, as campaigners call for an end to the ‘soul-destroying’ deaths.

New Forest Roads Awareness group is urging authorities to install average speed cameras on the road, the B3054.

This spate of deaths began with a mare being killed on August 25, leaving an orphaned foal which stood over its mother waiting for her to get up.

SATURDAY: Jet the mare stood over her dead foal on the B3054 in the New Forest on September 2

MONDAY: Jet was killed by a hit and run driver just 48 hours after its foal died in the same way

On September 2, a foal was hit, leaving it with broken legs and lying on the side of the road before it had to be put down the next morning.

Its mother, Jet, was then tragically hit on Monday alongside a separate foal.

In gut-wrenching pictures, the deceased ponies could be seen on the side of the road – left by their owners with a hit and run sign to make people ‘think’ about driving safely and encourage the driver to come forward.

After initially not reporting the incident involving Jet, a man in his 30s has now reported himself to Hampshire police.

MONDAY: Another foal was killed in the same accident as Jet on September 4. Here it is pictured with his mother stood over him

Gilly Jones, a campaigner for road and animal safety in the New Forest, said the first mare was hit despite wearing a reflective collar to alert drivers.

Of Monday’s incident, she said: ‘Both ponies had to be destroyed as the foal had a broken back and the mare had two broken legs.

‘Technically he hit three ponies as he hit the mother of that foal too but she was okay.

‘All these accidents happened after dark within a mile of each other. Drivers just need to slow down and pass with care.

‘It is heartbreaking for the animals and also devastating for the commoners whose animals are involved.’

Ms Jones urged people to call in an accident to allow ponies the best chance of survival as New Forest Agisters can be on the scene.

The agisters are a skilled group with a good working knowledge of the Forest and its depastured animals. They each have an allocated area and are responsible for overseeing all aspects of the ponies on the Forest.

‘Please report it when it happens,’ she added. ‘It’s as simple as a 999 call. We are begging people to call it in at the time.

AUGUST 25: An orphaned foal stood over its mother waiting for her to get up – this incident was the start of an 11-day spate of pony deaths 

‘The police have the phone numbers of the agisters and they will get there as fast as humanly possible.

‘In this one-mile stretch of road we’ve lost six ponies this year. Four in ten days is just soul-destroying.’

Ms Jones recounted the devastation of Jet’s owners, who had lost her foal just 48 hours before.

‘The owner of Jet is just distraught,’ she added. ‘She was the sweetest little pony.’

She said she’d been at the scene of all four deaths, adding: ‘For me, as a commoner, you know how much time and effort goes into raising one of these animals – we don’t breed them enough.

‘And to see it lying like that is soul destroying.’

Ms Jones said the shocking pictures taken of Jet standing over her dead foal and then of Jet on the roadside with another dead foal were taken to try to encourage the perpetrator to step forward.

‘It was a conscious decision,’ she said. ‘The owners leave them for a little while as it was a clear hit and run because the gentleman hadn’t come forward.

‘They left them there to make people think.

‘We don’t want to do this. When I’m stood there and the New Forest open-top bus is going by, I don’t want to give that impression of the New Forest.

‘But they were removed within an hour or so of when the man came forward.

‘I was watching people in floods of tears seeing these dead animals at the side of the road.

‘If that gets them to have that conversation in their household about driving safely to get that done – if we can keep accident figures down – that would be great.’

Ms Jones pointed out the ‘majority’ of motorists were driving with care and it was a minority of careless drivers causing devastation.

‘I don’t want this to be all negative – accident figures are very low at the moment,’ she said.

‘It’s just whether we can get people to learn from this experience.

‘For the thousands of people who drive across the New Forest in the four key roads, the majority of people really do drive with care.

‘You are never going to have zero animal accidents.’

Ms Jones warned drivers that consideration of the animals on the road is more important now evenings are getting darker earlier.

‘It’s very easy, an accident can happen to anyone.

‘This is just a reminder that the animals are on the road and they’ve got the right of way.

‘Even for people not worried about the animal, think about the damage to your vehicle or passengers.’