A Shetland pony who escaped four times and was pursued by police on two occasions has been put down.
Police received reports from the public at 11.50am on 28 January that he was running free in Newdigate, Surrey.
A further call was received shortly afterwards informing officers that he was in Charlwood.
“Officers were sent to the scene to recover the pony but it was extremely distressed and could not be handled,” a spokesman from Surrey Police told H&H.
“The pony ran off and unfortunately fell into a nearby slurry pit.”
A vet was called and the pony was put down under his advice.
“This was done to prevent him from enduring a distressing death from inhaling the slurry,” added the police spokesman.
Previous escapes
This was not the first time the pony escaped, as previously reported on horseandhound.co.uk.
The pony first was spotted trotting along the roads in the Crawley area on 24 January (see video, top).
It took Sussex Police two attempts to capture the Shetland.
He was eventually secured using ropes in the garden of a property in Short Close at 2.46pm.
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According to the West Sussex County Times, a local resident volunteered to keep the pony until his owners were found.
The pony reportedly broke through fencing on 26 January and was found and captured at a farm the following afternoon.
He then broke through fencing for a second time on 28 January.
The pony’s owner has not come forward.
