IT was a meeting that literally stopped traffic.

Real life horse Jester met War Horse puppet Topthorn outside the Mayflower Theatre and instantly struck up a friendship.

The bizarre meeting came as the record-breaking show returned to Southampton.

Jester, a 19 -year- old Hanoverian bay gelding who stands 16.1 hands tall ( around five foot 3 in) was joined by owner Deborah Martin from Whiteparish .

They were overshadowed by eight-foot-tall Topthorn, created by South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company and made of cane, leather and tyvec, a material used in book-binding, with a torso reinforced with aluminium. He was joined by actor Peter Becker who plays Fredrich the German soldier.

Topthorn is operated by three puppeteers who work his 'Head, Heart and Hind' but Jester immediately accepted him as a real horse.

Mayflower spokesman Robin Hancox said: "Jester was so well behaved and as soon as he met Topthorn he went in to nuzzle his nose and was really happy round him: it was like 'hello mate' and he just took him for another horse. And that's exactly what you do as an audience- you see beyond the puppet."

War Horse has 23 puppets, including lead horses Joey and Topthorn, as well as a goose, two swallows and two crows. The finished horse puppets weigh approximately 43 kilos for the body, including the puppeteers' backpacks, and another 7.7 kilos for the head.

It takes eight months to build a complete set of puppets for War Horse; they are handmade by 14 craftsmen and women.