Fire fighters rescued a horse that was stuck upside down in a ditch in a field in Coate, near Devizes.

A fire crew from Devizes helped specialist animal rescue fire officers from Amesbury to free the 32-year-old male horse from the ditch on Friday evening.

Watch manager Adam Martin said the ditch was about five feet deep and the crews were assisted by a digger driver from a neighbouring farm who dug space around the horse to enable fire officers to attach strops to it. The horse was then pulled out using the digger.

A vet was also present during the rescue and the horse suffered no ill effects. The rescue took 45 minutes and Mr Martin said Wiltshire’s policy of training fire officers in animal rescue techniques had paid dividends.

He said: “The horse was very calm during the rescue and when we had dragged him out of the ditch he stood up and was fine.”