HORSES may be banned from grazing on the Castle Meadows, in Abergavenny, following complaints from some councillors.

Members of the Bryn y Cwm area committee were divided on whether or not horses should be allowed to roam there, but the chairman, Councillor Andre Arkell, used his casting vote to call for a ban. Now the final decision will be made by the cabinet when they consider the recommendation.

Councillor Verona Nelmes said she had brought up the question of horses grazing on the meadows at a previous meeting because of a frightening incident last July, when a group of horses galloped through a gang of children playing cricket.

She said: "It's a miracle that no-one was injured." She said Castle Meadows is a lovely natural area, valued by the community, and it should be managed in a way that presented no danger to the public.

But Councillor Chris Woodhouse argued: "Castle Meadows is a grazing area and there is no opposition to animals there. It is going too far if we ban something that is natural and normal."