A WOMAN has spoken of her shock after a horse ploughed into the side of her car and rolled over the bonnet.

Stella Moody was waiting for oncoming traffic on Funtley Road near Fareham when the freak accident happened.

She was lucky to escape with only minor cuts after the horse's hooves went through the windscreen as it catapulted over the car.

Miss Moody, 61, from Warsash, was bringing a friend back from shopping when the accident happened last Saturday.

"It was just frightening really. I can still see the horse's face coming through my window before it catapulted over the bonnet.

"I had literally just stopped the car and there was this almighty bang, it was so frightening. I don't remember much then but apparently the hoof came through the windscreen between us.

"I was just frozen, I couldn't move, it was hard to believe what had happened."

Miss Moody said she believes the robustness of her Volvo car saved her from any serious injury.

She said: "If I was out in the New Forest I would be wary of horses but you just don't expect something like that to happen. I think if I hadn't have been in my Volvo I would have been badly hurt."

Amazingly the black mare continued running after colliding with the car before it was eventually tethered by a passer-by.

However, after an examination by a vet it was decided that the horse was too badly injured and it was put down.

Police believe the accident happened after the horse was startled in a nearby field.

Inspector Simon Wrigglesworth said: "We believe something spooked it and made it jump over one fence to get out of the field and straight through another. It was a very nasty incident and it was quite amazing that the driver and passenger were not seriously injured."