Horse and rider stuck upside down

Tractor machinery was used in the rescue (pic: Cambs Fire Service)

A rider and her horse have been rescued from a Cambridgeshire ditch where they were stuck upside down.

The horse, named Drummer, bolted as they passed the 7ft (2m) deep ditch in Longstowe on Sunday and the pair fell in, a fire service spokesman said.

Fire crews freed the woman, who was not hurt, and called a vet to sedate the distressed animal.

The horse, also uninjured, was winched out of the ditch with the help of a tractor, the spokesman added.

'Complex rescue'

John Kitchener, of Gamlingay fire station, said: "When we arrived, both the woman and her horse were stuck at the bottom of a very steep ditch, with slippery mud on the banks.

"They were completely stuck and unable to lift themselves out. The horse was also very distressed.

"We were able to pull the woman free fairly easily, but the rescue of the horse was a little more complex.

"With the help of the farmer, and under the advice of a vet, we used a tractor to winch the horse out of the ditch."