The Health and Safety Executive and Leeds City Council are both investigating the incident on Common Lane last Wednesday, when an 11-year-old horse, Merlin, received a massive electric shock from the ground while on its afternoon exercise.

The cob's owner Tina Brown who sat with Merlin for the over two hours it took him to die, has sworn not to let the matter rest and will consider suing.

Ms Brown, 54, said: "Somebody will pay, not that it will bring Merlin back, but he was an expensive animal "

Ms Brown, who runs the Foxholes Animal Sanctuary on Moor Knoll Lane, East Ardsley, had been riding along Station Lane, alongside a new housing development when Merlin shot forward.

She said: "He just suddenly shot forwards as if someone had shot him in the backside.

"I managed to stop him and he did it again. I talked to a friend of mine who is an electrician and who said that because the ground was wet there would have been a big area that was live so he was getting shocked again and again.

"I stopped him and jumped off to see if there was anything in his leg or foot. It would probably have been better for him if he had run right away with me, right up till Thorpe, that way he might have survived ,but he did as he was told and stopped."

She watched in horror as Merlin collapsed screaming to the ground and, at first thinking it was a seizure or heart attack immediately called home to get them to ring a vet.

But when her friend Charlene Hill tried to remove Merlin's metal bit she was blown off her feet by the electric shock she received and it became obvious he was being electrocuted.

The wet ground and Merlin's steel shoes meant he had no defence against the electricity while Ms Brown, wearing rubber boots and sitting on a leather saddle had felt nothing.

Unable to move him, there was nothing they could do for Merlin except watch his agony.

He was sedated by a vet and died two hours later. It was not until 10pm that night that Ms Brown received a phone call to say that the site was now safe and Merlin had been removed by a truck.

Contractors working for Leeds City Council had been working on replacing curb stones on Station Lane.

It is thought a damaged cable had made part of the road live.
Ms Brown said: "It was absolutely horrendous. I have been really busy running the animal hotel, we have been busy all week, but as soon as it is night time or I am alone the whole thing comes back I have probably had five hours sleep since Wednesday.

"He was the best animal I have ever owned, all animal owners say that just once in a life time you get a cat, dog or horse that is that extra bit special.

"Merlin is going to be sorely missed, not just by me but by all the staff here. He was a regular sight in the village too."

She will be meeting officers from the Health and Safety Executive on Thursday to give her statement.

The Health and Safety Executive confirmed they are making inquiries, something echoed by a spokeswoman from Leeds City Council who said: "We are helping the Health and Safety Executive with their investigation as well as carrying out one of our own.

"It would be unwise to draw any conclusions until we have the results of these investigations."

A spokesman from CE Electric, the company that owns Yorkshire Electricity Distribution Limited which is responsible for the distribution of electricity across the region said: "We cannot comment on this matter until the result of the HSE inquiry is complete.

"We offer our sympathies to the horse's owner and we will co-operate fully with the HSE throughout its investigation."