What offence is committed if a horse rider uses a footpath?
This is not of itself an offence unless horse riding is prohibited by a traffic regulation order or a bylaw but it may be a civil wrong (‘tort’) against the owner of the land, so a horse rider may be committing trespass. It is possible that higher rights may exist that have not yet been recorded, and if so it would not constitute trespass. However, if a horse rider caused significant damage to a path they may have committed an offence of criminal damage, and a tort against the highway authority. If the horse riding affected the rights of legitimate users of the footpath the rider may also be guilty of causing a public nuisance.
