RSPCA and local farmer come to the rescue after pony gets stuck in Cambridgeshire river

A pony had a lucky escape when it was rescued by the RSPCA – and a local farmer and his digger - after it fell into a Cambridgeshire river.

The pony was discovered by a member of the public on Sunday June 26, stuck in the river which runs through a field near to Chequer Street in Fenstanton. The RSPCA was immediately called to the scene.

RSPCA deputy chief inspector Jon Knight said: “The poor pony had fallen into the stream and the eight foot river banks were far too steep for her to have climbed out on her own.

“With the water already up to her belly, she could have been in real danger had there been more rainfall.”

It was initially unclear who owned the pony, so deputy chief inspector Knight contacted Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and a team of fire fighters arrived at the scene.

He added: “She was a lovely, friendly pony, but she was clearly getting chilly and although calm, she was exhausted. We had to work quickly. We also called a vet out to keep an eye on the pony while we began the rescue.

“Luckily, a local farmer kindly arrived with his digger to dig a sloping channel in the river bank, giving us a clear exit to carefully lead the pony up and out to safety. She was checked over by the vet and thankfully was unharmed, so we released her back into the field to her herd.”

The owner of the horse has since been contacted.