A REWARD is being offered to track down the driver who mowed down a muchloved Hampshire donkey, leaving her in agony to die on the roadside.

New Forest Donkey Belle was discovered with her legs broken by the side of the road following the hit and run.

It was only when another car drove past the four-year-old jenny donkey later that evening that the on duty Agister was called, who had no choice but to shoot her due to the severity of her injuries.

Now her devastated owners have made a desperate appeal to catch the driver who fled the scene and a £1,000 reward has been offered for any information that helps find those responsible.

It comes less than two weeks after young donkey Jo-Jo, who featured in a road safety campaign was killed after she was hit by a car, in Brockenhurst.

Heather Gregory, who has been looking after donkeys for eight years with her family in East Boldre, is eager to catch the driver responsible and has even enlisted the help of forensic experts to help.

She said: “It’s really sad, they are just so beautiful and it’s soul destroying to think that someone could just leave her in so much pain. I’m not going to stop looking for the person that did this, I owe it to Belle.

“Donkeys actually pair for life and Belle was paired with Ebony, they had so much character, always making people laugh and being very friendly.

A photo of them is even sold on gift cards in Norris’s Gift Shop.

The mother-ofthree added: “Ebony is now distraught and I have to keep her in a paddock because she just keeps going back to where Belle died. They’re very clever animals and only have one best friend. Anyone with a heart would understand how this poor animal feels.”

Belle was hit in Beaulieu Road, near Harlicks Hill at around 8.15pm on Friday, December 12.

Anyone with information can call the police on 101 or the Verderers of the New Forest on 023 8028 2052.