Donkey foal orphaned after crash kills mother in New Forest
There's another plea for drivers to slow down and be extra vigilant
A donkey has died after a crash involving a motorbike in the New Forest.
It happened on the B3055 Brockenhurst to Hatchett Pond road.
The motorcyclist reported the accident but donkey, who had broken it's back, had to be put down by an agister.
Its young foal, unable to fend for itself, was taken off the Forest and returned to its owner.
Andrew Luker told Greatest Hits Radio:
"We were just going to bed at about 10:15pm at night and my wife's mobile phone rang and it's always one your dread when you see the agister's name come up because you know it's either going to be something that is dead or is going to need attention.
The foal that she had with her had actually run off with the herd of donkeys that she was with, so we not only had the issue with trying to sort the mum who had been injured but we were missing a now orphan donkey foal. My wife Katie went out the next morning and was able to retrieve the foal who was very tired from being out all night with it's mum.
It's very upsetting, that particularly donkey was bred by us, her mum was one of the first donkey's I ever had and the jenny that was killed actually belonged to my son, as I gave it to him when it was born.
From dusk right through the night and into the morning, their habits and movements don't change, just because you can't see them it doesn't mean that they're not there. I know it's a fourty mile an hour speed limit but that's the maximum you do not have to stay at fourty."
Earlier this month a young grey foal was killed at Deadman Hill on Roger Penny Way, a notorious accident spot.
Gilly Jackson from campaign group New Forest Road Association says drivers must remember livestock, particularly foals have no road sense;:
"Early Summer means we have foals being born in the Forest. They have no road sense at all. We, again, want to remind everyone that you should drive with care across the National Parks roads. Having the stallions out, the weather, and noise from various types of vehicle changes how the animals react, so caution should be in the forefront of every bodies minds. We know that these are accidents, but all these animals are owned, and it is a huge loss to any Commoner to have an animal die on the roads."
SPEED WATCH
Meanwhile, more than 40 drivers were caught going over the 40mph limit on Roger Penny Way in just one hour last Thursday (10th June).
One was clocked at 67mph.