A horse has been rescued by firefighters after being trapped in a West Midlands canal for two days.
Bay gelding Billy was stuck in water and reeds up to his back in a disused canal in Wednesbury.
Firefighters and a technical rescue unit were called to the canal last week (3 September) at 3pm and worked to clear the bank of reeds so that they could access Billy.
“Billy the horse is in good hands and is being fed carrots while secured,” tweeted West Midlands Fire Service during the rescue.
Billy was pulled onto a special platform before being checked over by an RSPCA officer.
“He was in a collapsed state and we didn’t know how long he had been there for,” said the RSPCA’s Joe Burgess. “He had been struggling for a while to get out and had no fight left in him at all.
“Once he was freed, a vet checked him over and found he had a high temperature and may have ingested a lot of dirty water, however he was given medication and seems to be doing well. He is now back with his owners.”
The rescue took less than half an hour to complete.
Credit: West Midlands Fire Service
A lucky escape
A horse was rescued by firefighters after falling into an eight-foot deep ditch last month (8 August).
Jess Jaremczuk was riding along fields in Carrington, Greater Manchester, when her mare, Opal, was spooked by a dog and fell backwards into a ditch.
A vet sedated Opal and firefighters from Eccles, Heywood and Sale used strops and boards to drag the mare to safety.
It took crews over three hours to rescue Opal, who is now recovering from injuries to her back and hind legs.
