FIREFIGHTERS were forced to think on the hoof after a horse became stranded in a near-freezing river with steep banks.

A walker alerted North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service at 10am on Sunday after spotting the horse stuck in the River Wiske, at Kirby Wiske, near Northallerton.

A spokesman for the brigade said the crews found the large horse standing in 5ft of water in the River Swale tributary, which was not deep enough for the animal to swim in.

Firefighters used spades to dig a shallow slipway through the river bank before attaching straps, a halter and webbing to the distressed animal.

The horse was then guided out of the river it had apparently gone to for a drink.

Station manager Rob Horton said: “When we got the horse out, it was shivvering and after a vet checked it over, it appeared fine.

“The landowner said he would make some efforts to move the three horses in that field to another one to prevent this happening again.”