Fire crews rescued pony trapped in slurry pit

Chester, the usually brown and white pony, was left discoloured after falling into an underground slurry pit in Goldstone, near Market Drayton, Shropshire, on Monday morning. Judi Martin, joint owner of the equine yard where Chester was being kept said: “Every morning we check to see where the horses are.



“I couldn’t see him so I went looking for him and fortunately one of the other horses was looking in a certain direction which I headed in. He had managed to get through the tape and barriers and fell into the pit. The pit is on the edge of our land so we are not sure who it belongs to. Whoever it belongs to, it needs making more secure.”





Firefighters from Market Drayton and Wellington spent more than an hour helping to rescue Chester from the pit. Mark Smith, from Market Drayton Fire Station, said: “We were called to an animal in distress after it had fallen into a cesspit. Thankfully the animal was successfully rescued.



“It took about one to one-and-a-half hours to rescue it. When we got it out it was very cold and was shaking. But within 10 minutes it was walking and was reunited with its stable mate.” The seven-month-old animal has been left shaken by the fall and is believed to have suffered a puncture wound behind one of his knees.