A RUNNER suffered horrific injuries after being kicked in the head by a horse. David Telford was out running with friends when a stray horse bucked and kicked out at him.

Mr Telford, 60, from Chorlton, is now deaf in his right ear and has a fracture in his lower jaw.

He also suffered a complete break in his top jaw, and has lost a number of teeth.

Paramedics and doctors originally thought that Mr Telford was suffering from internal bleeding in his head as blood was coming out of his ear.

But following scans it emerged that part of his jaw bone had snapped off and punctured his ear drum, causing it to bleed.

Doctors have now told him that he faces up to 12 months of treatment and numerous visits to hospital.

Mr Telford, who has been racing since he was 16 and is a member of Altrincham Athletic Club, said he has been left in `agony' as a result of the incident, which took place while he was running along a public footpath in Stretford.

Mr Telford, who works as an engineer, is unable to eat properly due to the break in his jaw and has lost a stone in just three weeks.

He said: "I was with my fellow runners and we all saw the horses in the field next to us as we were running by.

"We had seen them before, but we had never had any trouble with them in the past.

"One of our runners shimmied past the horses and as I did the same one of them reacted and kicked out at me.

"Before I knew it I was up in the air and had landed really badly on the ground."

But Mr Telford, who has three grown up children and four grandchildren, said: "I'm back running again - it's what I love."