FIRE crews battled for two hours to rescue a horse trapped in a muddy ditch at a Hawkshaw farm.

A walker discovered distressed 30-year-old Palamino gelding Cheval lying flat in the water-filled ditch at Higher House Farm.

After initial attempts to rescue the stricken animal from the quagmire proved fruitless, fire crews from Ramsbottom, Heywood and Bolton were alerted.

They used a winch, attached to slings underneath the horse, to pull it to safety from the ditch.

Twenty minutes later, Cheval was back on his feet before undergoing a thorough check from a vet who was at the scene.

The drama happened at the farm on Thursday evening (May 30).

Mrs Amy Rowbottom, who shares the horse with Trudi Berry , said: "A walker had come across Cheval lying completely flat in the ditch which had water flowing through it .

"The water was gushing over his legs.

"The horse wasn't actually trapped by the mud but because of the conditions he couldn't get purchase on his legs."

She and others at first attached ropes to the animal but were unable to bodily pull him from the ditch.

But fire crews summoned to the farm deployed winding equipment to eventually haul Cheval from the ditch.

Mrs Rowbottom said: "I believe the horse could have been trapped there for more than four hours.

"Once he was away from the ditch, it took us 20 minutes to get him to stand up.

"Because of his ordeal, and his age, Cheval was very stiff and exhausted. But he seems to be OK."

The horse is stabled at the farm.

Mrs Rowbottom paid tribute to the fire officers and others who played a key role in the rescue.