THE A64 westbound carriageway near York was closed this morning after a horse box broke down.

North Yorkshire Police said it was called to the incident near Askham Bryan at about 7am.

The carriageway was closed to allow racehorses to be removed from the horse box. 

It caused heavy traffic and delays for drivers.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said: "Officers were called to assist in keeping the animals safe while they were moved to another horsebox and the road was closed for a short time to allow this to happen.