Less than a fortnight after a horse drowned in a Bushey field, the charity that owns the land says more are being kept illegally on the site.

The Woodland Trust is appealing to animal welfare organisations or the police to step in after a 15-foot section of fence was vandalised to allow the horses into Merry Hill this week.

On January 10, one horse drowned and three others had to be rescued when a large pool of water formed in the field after an underground water pipe burst.

It is thought travellers had illegally been grazing the horses on the land, off Merry Hill Road, before the accident.

Hertfordshire Constabulary said the keeping of horses on another person’s land was a civil matter and that no criminal investigation would be taking place.

Persistent damage to fencing at the site has left the charity facing a bill of thousands of pounds and Woodland Trust property manager Nick Sherriff says he is looking for ways to tackle the “persistent” problem.

He said: "The local community worked hard to raise funds for Merry Hill, which is now a much valued community asset. It is quite unfair that it should be so misused by irresponsible horse owners.

“Our two priorities now are, first, to repair the fencing and, second, to work with others to make sure that the problem of ‘fly-grazing’ is vigorously tackled, so the same thing doesn’t go on happening.”