Riders and horse rescued from sea

The rescue was filmed by the police helicopter

Two riders and a horse, trapped on a sandbank in Norfolk, were rescued in a dramatic race against time.

The women and their horses were trapped by the rising tide at Holkham Bay on Sunday afternoon.

The Wells inshore lifeboat was launched to rescue the two women. One horse managed to get ashore and the second was coaxed to swim to dry land.

The riders, from Brandon in Suffolk, had taken their horses to Holkham for a day on the beach.

The rescue operation was filmed by a police helicopter.

Dangerous tides

One of the riders, Lizzie Allen, said: "We were very scared and quite nervous.

"In our minds, we knew we would get out but we were really concerned about the pony because he had never been out at sea. We thought we were going to lose him."

Allen Frary, who took part in the rescue, said it was the first time they had been called to rescue a horse.

He said: "We were concerned the horse might try and get into the boat through fright, injuring the crew, and with an outboard motor and propeller it might have damaged the horse."

The horse was encouraged to swim to shore alongside the rescue boat and no one was injured.

The area is notorious for its tides and holidaymakers are warned by siren when the tide is about to turn.