A KEIGHLEY school site manager encountered an unexpected visitor when he turned up for work early one morning.

Lyndon Hall arrived at Holy Family Catholic School to find a horse placidly grazing on the school grounds.

The horse had strayed out of a field and wandered onto the school's property last Thursday. (June 4)

Mr Hall said he came across the animal when he arrived at the premises at 5.30am.

"She was quite calm and happy," he added. "We believe she came from the Keighley Tarn area.

"Our own real worry was how she'd react when the children turned up, so a member of staff who rides horses went and got a bridle and put it on her.

"We put the horse in an enclosed area we've had built for gardening."

A Holy Family school spokesman added: "Immediately adopted as a temporary school pet the horse was provided with a 'minder' from our house-keeping team to make sure students kept their distance.

"It had a steady stream of visitors, some bearing gifts of food and water – even a bag of hay sourced at very short notice by one of the school staff.

"A trawl of the local farms eventually elicited a response about an empty field that should have had a horse in it."

Mr Hall said the horse's owner came to collect her shortly before midday.