A 16-month-old Shire horse had to be rescued by firefighters and an animal rescue team after it got stuck in mud on a river bank near Sandbach.

Firefighters from Middlewich and Lymm and the animal rescue unit from Bollington successfully rescued Delilah from the River Wheelock yesterday (Sunday).  

The young horse had its rear legs stuck in river mud at the bottom of a slope in Sutton Lane, Middlewich just before lunchtime.

A spokesperson from Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service said: "The owner was at the scene and kept the horse calm.

"Once a vet arrived, rescue systems were set up and strops were placed around the animal to enable the rescue.

"The vet medically assessed the horse who was found to have not suffered from the ordeal."