FIREFIGHTERS battled for two hours to drag a frightened one-year-old horse from a ditch after it fell in and became trapped.

Birchwood firefighters were called to Church Farm, Glazebrook, at around 4.30pm on Saturday, when they found Sam the colt in the deep ditch drainage system. The horse was up to its neck in water.

When the firefighters arrived the frightened Sam had already been in there for around 30 minutes. The firefighters got him to move into the shallowest part of the ditch and they dug some of the embankment away, but the tired horse could not pull itself out.

A vet was called, who sedated Sam, and the firefighters attached lines to him before he was pulled free.