The owner of an animal rescue centre is urging people to stop releasing balloons because of the danger they pose to horses.

Christine Bates, who runs Spirits Rest Horse and Animal Sanctuary in Dartford, says balloons can make horses panic and injures themselves, or worse – they could eat part of one and die.

Her warning comes after several horses in her care were injured when a balloon made its way into the stables.

The 63-year-old was called by a night worker at the sanctuary on Sunday evening to be told the horses were going "crazy".

Christine, who has been running the sanctuary for 32 years, said: "They were going absolutely berserk, and once one horse starts to panic then that sets off the rest of them and they all go crazy.

"They rear up, try to get out of the stable, get their limbs caught on the door and they can get seriously hurt.

"They can end up jumping, escaping and going into roads, and some animals will eat and swallow the plastic at the end which is a really horrible death for them."

In the end, Christine had to go to the centre and let the horses out for their own safety, and then they refused to come back in.

She added: "It's a nightmare. A horse sees a balloon as a predator and wants to get away from it, but when they're confined to these stables they go into panic mode.

"They're silly creatures, they're flight animals and they do all sorts of silly things.

"Some of the horses have slight injuries and we have a vet coming to look at them later. This happens all the time – especially when there's kids' parties and stuff like that.

"I'm not saying don't enjoy yourself but think twice. It would be nice if people were a bit more mindful about the impact that they can have."

Dartford Cllr Laura Edie (Green) has asked people to think about other ways to remember loved ones instead of doing a balloon release.

She and Christine have created a petition to ban balloon and paper lantern releases, and are aiming for 100 signatures. You can sign it here.

Cllr Edie said: "I appreciate that people often do this to say goodbye to a loved one, but it is just so dangerous for wildlife.

"Even the biodegradable latex balloons can still take around a year to break down.

"How about celebrating with biodegradable confetti or bursts of colour with a powder cannon and remembering those who have passed by planting a tree in their memory instead."