Motorists in France were in disbelief when 14 ponies went on an unexpected joyride along a busy road.

Alexis Autissier, 39, and his wife Sonia, 36, were driving near Niort on November 10 when the line of galloping ponies came charging straight at them.

The mischievous animals had accidentally escaped from the Niort Riding Club and were being pursued by staff trying to round them up.

Traffic was briefly brought to a standstill, but thankfully no vehicles - or ponies - were harmed in the unusual incident.

Eventually, all 14 ponies were safely recaptured and returned to their riding club home.

Alexis, a forklift operator from Fressines, Deux-Sèvres, said: "I was pleasantly surprised because it's not every day you see a scene like that. "

"Fortunately, they only blocked traffic for a short time. Luckily, they didn't cause any damage, and all were recovered without any problems."

Alexis can be heard saying in the video: "Everything's normal everyone, everything's normal. There are racetracks for that, guys."