Firefighter and district manager for Newark, Collingham and Southwell tweets shocking picture of horse stuck in cesspit at Mattersey farm

Pictures tweeted by a firefighter show a Newark crew using a fork-lift truck to pull a trapped horse out of a cesspit.

Firefighter Leigh Holmes, district manager for Newark, Collingham and Southwell, posted dramatic pictures showing crews from Newark, Retford and Warsop rescuing a horse from a farm in Mattersey.

Leigh tweeted: "A difficult but very successful rescue of a large animal by crews from Retford, Warsop and Newark.

"This was made possible through the excellent support of a vet and local company Agriscope who sent us some much needed machinery.”

The horse had stumbled into the pit at the Nottinghamshire farm and crews were at the scene for more than two hours.

A telehandler was used to winch the animal free after it fell on its side in the pit.

A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue said: "We received a call at 12.57pm on March 27 to a horse falling into a dry cesspit.

"The horse was rescued and left in the care of the owner with the incident being concluded at 3.40pm."