You see plenty of cars, vans and the odd motorbike parked in McDonald’s car parks as drivers and riders pop in for a quick bite. But you don’t see many horses. So it was something of a surprise when traffic police officers on a night shift saw this chap park his horse and gig outside McDonald’s, Bradford Road, Brighouse, very early this morning.
Double was the officers’ surprise when they spotted the rider holding his dog as he waited inside the 24-hour takeaway for his 4 am fast food. PC Dave Cant, who tweets as @WYP_TrafficDave, expressed his disbelief: “Seen it all now…” He added: “Just popped in for a brew! The rider was stood holding his dog waiting for his food!” The rider left his faithful equine and cart in a bay reserved for delayed drive-thru orders.
But we imagine there wasn’t much demand for parking spaces at 4 am – and he managed to keep the horse and cart within one bay. It’s not the first time riders have attempted to bring their nags into McDonald’s. In May, two men tried to “drive” a horse into a McDonalds, in Staines, Surrey. And in 2016, Connor John Hamer staged a protest at a McDonald’s, in Bury, Lancashire, after staff refused to serve him when he and his horse trotted into the branch’s drive-thru.
McDonald’s has previously said: “Our drive-thru lanes are specifically designed for roadworthy motor vehicles only. The close proximity of motor vehicles in a frequently busy area, with limited space, means that our drive-thru lanes are not suitable for pedestrians, bike riders, horses or horse-drawn carts.
