Roaming Dudley horses cause traffic havoc by Russells Hall Hospital

The animals were spotted wandering along Pensnett High Street forcing drivers to slow down as they approached.

They then retreated to a grassy bank by the hospital car park where they were seen grazing at around 9.30am.

Passers-by said they believed the animals had come from the nearby Fens Pool nature reserve.

Mike Staff, who lives on Chapel Street, just off Pensnett High Street, who walked past the horses, said: "They almost caused an accident when I came by earlier.

"It is a problem around here and people have just started to see it as normal almost."

James Thomas, aged 46, of Monica Road in Small Heath had been at the hospital to visit his mother, and said: "I noticed the traffic was really slow coming up the road and when I saw the horses I knew why.

"They were just on the path but you never know what they're going to do next."

A spokesman for the hospital said the horses had caused no problems for them.

It comes just two months after three horses were spotted running loose along the street before they were picked up by a horse bailiff.

Horses roaming on roads around the borough have been a problem for years and the area around Russells Hall Hospital is a hotspot.

In February councillors tabled talks with the RSPCA following concerns over the welfare of horses grazing in Fens Pool Nature Reserve, opposite the hospital, to be moved for their own safety and officials from West Midlands Police, Dudley Council and the RSPCA had worked up a scheme where any horses found wandering on nearby roads would be removed.

Figures revealed in April showed Dudley Council has spent around £150,000 rounding up the stray horses over the past two years.