Two gardaí were injured when their patrol car struck a stray horse and crashed into a barrier, early on Tuesday morning.

The gardaí were called to an incident on a busy stretch of the N18 between the Limerick Tunnel and the Roxboro Road junction.Two loose horses entered the motorway at about 4.30am.

Their patrol car then smashed into the barrier and is a write-off. Fortunately, the two officers were able to walk away from the car, but one has a broken arm and head wounds.

They were taken to University Hospital Limerick. One Garda was released yesterday with minor injuries and the other remains hospitalised.

John O’Keeffe of the Garda Representative Association said stray horses were a huge issue for gardai in Limerick. He said it was not a small problem as they were large wild animals. He said it was only a surprise the two officers were not killed. He called for a “complete ban on all horses grazing within the city boundaries”

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) tweeted from its account: