FIRE crews from Prudhoe were called to an unusual incident when a horse got stuck in a ditch.

The fire and rescue service was called to a field near Horsley after the horse, named Merlyn, and his rider Steph Lynch fell around10ft into the ditch.

Prudhoe crew manager, Kim Shutt, described the scene that greeted the crew.

He said: "As we approached, we could see that the horse rider was in tears and very distressed. The reason became obvious when we saw the size of the ditch and her horse Merlyn.

"The hole was at least 10 feet deep and I did think at the time we didn’t stand much of a chance for a good outcome for Merlyn and Steph."

Thankfully, a vet arrived and was able to sedate Merlyn, before the crew managed to get a sling around the animal and lift him to safety.

Kim added: "It was just great to see the look on Steph's face when she saw Merlyn walking away.

"I'm sure she wouldn’t have swapped this for all the money in world.

"Everyone worked so well and it’s great to see so much effort put in by the fire brigade to rescue an animal."

Read more in the Hexham Courant.