MORE drivers have been stopped by police for passing horses too closely as part of a crack down on the problem.

Earlier this year officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Mounted Unit launched a sting operation on the town’s streets.

Drivers of 21 cars were stopped on the town’s roads in just over 90 minutes as part of the action under the Safer Pass Initiative.

This week officers returned to the region’s roads, this time targeting Slag Lane in Leigh where a young girl was injured after being knocked off her horse in September.

There Mounted Unit officers stopped 40 cars in just over an hour, for passing a horse too closely and too quickly.

PC Matthew Hill said officers were disappointed to disappointed to see “so many cars” pass them closely and at speed in such a short amount of time.

He added: “The damage speeding cars can cause not only to themselves, but to both the horse and rider, can be fatal and we want to reduce these incidents. Further operations are planned in a bid to make the roads a safer place to be for horse and riders.”