Veteran English trainer Clive Brittain says he has used the controversial substance Sungate on his horses, unaware it contained a banned steroid.

Brittain, who has won many of the world's biggest races including the Breeders' Cup with the great racemare Pebbles, told the Guardian that some of his horses, who were out of training at the time and recovering from serious injury, had been treated with Sungate which contains the banned stanozolol.

The British Horseracing Authority continues to investigate the use of steroids after the scandal involving now-disqualified Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni and pending charges against Gerard Butler.

The newspaper reported Brittain as saying he would be "surprised" if charges were brought against him.

"They (BHA) came round and we had a talk," Brittain said.

"Any of the horses that were treated by the vets were horses recovering from serious injury. They weren't in training, they were at rest. These horses were months away from a racecourse.

It would only haven been the horses that had fractures we'd be talking about, six or seven at the most.

"When a horse has a fracture, you treat it, you give it time and then you give it more time. It wasn't there to boost their growth.

"We've never had a horse test positive for anything."

Asked if he would have permitted the use of the joint treatment had he known it contained an anabolic steroid, he said: "Certainly not, because we've never used anything like that and never would."

Fellow Newmarket trainer Butler faces seven charges of breaching the rules in relation to the use of Sungate on his horses.

A date for his hearing has yet to be announced by the BHA.