WADWORTH shire horses were spooked as they left the show ring at the Royal Bath and West Show today and threw staff from the dray.

A Wadworth spokesman said: "The Wadworth Shire Horses were at the Bath and West show today and were spooked very unexpectedly whilst in the main ring.

"Our highly trained Head Horseman Martin Whittle brought both Max and Monty to a controlled stop and handled this in a very professional manner.

"We'd like to thank the team at Bath and West and the horse community for their help and support.  

"Thankfully there were only very minor injuries to both horses and the horsemen themselves and we are pleased to say that they should be fine for tomorrow's final day at the show."

A spokesman for the show said: "The riders were fine. Something clearly spooked the horses and the riders couldn’t stop.

"The horses are okay and as far as I know there are no major injuries."

The Heavy Horse Competition had passed without incident as teams from Wadworth, Hall & Woodhouse and Mouland contested the Heavy Horse turnout class.

But as they left the main arena after the prize giving before the Wadworth horses became spooked on their way to the holding enclosure.

First aiders were called to treat some minor injuries.

The event takes place over four days and is one of the biggest of its kind in the country.