QUICK-THINKING firefighters adapted a machine used to carry hay bales to save a horse from drowning in a stream.

The horse, a three-year-old gelding called Bobby, had wandered from its stable at Seaton Delaval, North Tyneside, and into the stream, which runs through grazing land in Seghill.

When stablehands became aware of the horse's plight, they called 999 and firefighters arrived from Cramlington Station in minutes.

Though no easy solution presented itself, firefighters eventually found a way to lift the animal clear.

They put straps under the horse and attached them to the telehandler, which lifted the animal clear.

The horse was virtually unscathed after its ordeal.