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Two men tried to lead a horse into a McDonald's in Staines after taking another customer's order without paying, a manager has claimed.

Video footage shows the horse being led halfway into the fast-food chain's restaurant near the Two Rivers Shopping Centre on Thursday (May 30) and subsequently backing out and pooing on the ground outside.

Manir Mohammed, one of the managers at the restaurant, said he was "shocked" and has never witnessed an incident like this before.

The 40-year-old said: “They came through the drive-thru on their horses and ordered two drinks from the side window. They paid for the two drinks and then went to the collection point and said they had another order, which was the car behind's order.

"They listed what was in the order after looking at the screen and one of the staff members gave them the bag of food without realising they hadn't paid for it."

Mr Mohammed explained that the two men tried to bring the horse inside the restaurant at around 2.40pm, which was occupied by about 30 customers.

"Everyone was shocked," he said. "People were calling the guys 'idiots' and lots of people were taking pictures and videos.

“I was really shocked. It is the first time I have been so close to a horse and I did not know what to do, but luckily they backed out before they could bring the horse into the restaurant."

Mr Mohammed and other staff subsequently spent 20 minutes clearing up the horse faeces. The incident was not reported to the police but has been captured on CCTV.

A spokesman for the RSPCA said: "This could have resulted in significant distress and injury to the horse, and to surrounding people had the horse panicked, or got items of his harness caught on the surroundings.

“We’d encourage anyone with concerns for the welfare of an animal to contact the RSPCA’s 24-hour helpline on 0300 1234 999.”