A HORSE has been rescued from a stream by firefighters after being stuck for four hours.

The thoroughbred, named Red, suffered deep cuts to his legs after falling from a footbridge in the early hours of this morning. Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to North Houghton, near Stockbridge, at 9.05am and called a vet to sedate the distressed horse.

Red escaped overnight from nearby paddocks and was thought to have injured himself falling from the bridge of thrashing around as he lay in the 4ft-deep water.

“It’s like walking through mud in your wellies and you end up with your wellies stuck in the mud,” said animal welfare adviser Adrian Knight.

“It was difficult because he was a very stressed horse, there was thrashing and writhing.”

Vicky Simons, of Endells vets in Salisbury, was called to put the horse under. Firefighters from Redbridge, Basingstoke, Brockenhurst and Fareham attacked strops to his legs and pulled him out of the water.

The vet treated his cuts at the scene before he was reunited with his owner, Yana Williams.