A WOMAN was taken to hospital with a head injury after being thrown from a horse in Ainsworth on Sunday.

The rider, who is in her 30s, hit her head on a pavement and was knocked unconscious when her horse was startled by a car driving through flood waters in Arthur Lane.

She was taken by road to Salford Royal Hospital, where she is believed to be recovering well, after an air ambulance crew from Yorkshire was also called to the scene.

Bury Times:

Nearby resident Paul Horrocks said: "There’s a section of the road as it junctions with Church Street that often floods.

"I had rung Bury Council just beforehand about the flooding and they sent a team out. Just as the council were arriving, a vehicle drove through and a big wave of water came up.

"This horse rider was passing through and the water obviously either hit or startled the horse and it threw her off and onto the pavement. She was knocked unconscious.

"Paramedics were called and came pretty quickly, and there was an air ambulance that came in from Yorkshire.

"The council have since put up flooding signs because it is a hazardous area."

Bury Times:

A North West Ambulance Service spokesman confirmed: “We were called at 11.17am on Sunday. A woman in her mid-30s was taken to Salford Royal Hospital by road ambulance with a head injury.”

A spokesman for Bury Council said: 

"We were called on Sunday at 11am regarding flooding on Arthur Lane in Ainsworth. Just before we arrived an accident had happened involving a person on a horse which was frightened by a vehicle going through the water.

"We assessed the situation and found that the gully was surcharging due to the amount of water in the drainage system. At this point we arranged for signs and barriers for the flooded area, and the flooding by this time had started to subside.

"This is one of many flooding incidents the council has attended over the past two weeks. The situation will continue to be monitored and further investigations carried out once flooding on the adjacent field has reduced.

"We hope that the horse rider soon recovers from the incident."