FIREFIGHTERS today (Wednesday, March 4) rescued a young horse which got stuck up to its neck in mud.

At one point it appeared the animal may die from the stress, but rescuers managed to revive it following the operation in the Brasside area, of Durham City, shortly after 10am.

Durham City station manager Graeme Metcalfe said: “A man working on roof of nearby farmhouse was alerted by a dog walker to the horse which was in distress.

“The animal was stuck up to its neck in a boggy area at back of HMP Frankland. The worker went into the bog and to try and comfort the horse when we arrived.”

Three appliances, including a specialist crew from Bishop Auckland attended the scene.

Firefighters used inflatable pathways to reach the animal and harnesses to rescue the animal in an operation lasting more than an hour.

Mr Metcalfe said: “Initially we thought the horse was going to die, due to the condition it was in.

“But members of the specialist rescue crew from Bishop Auckland, who get a quite a bit of training in dealing with situations like this, comforted and massaged the horse and managed to revived it.”

Mr Metcalfe added: “A member of public placed himself in a place of potential risk by going into the bog to comfort the horse.

“We would like to remind people not to put themselves at risk if animals are trapped in mud or water, but to rather wait for the emergency services.”