A THANKFUL animal lover says she is lucky her horse is alive after he was stuck overnight in a waterlogged ditch.

Kirsty Chapman, 32, was horrified to discover her horse, called Jae, had broken through his fencing and fallen into a ditch 6ft high with water on Thursday morning.

Jae, who is kept on farmland in Jaywick, was first found by landowners Nicki Lush and her brother Graham.

They raised the alarm and called the emergency services before calling to Kirsty to drive over from her home in Washbrook, Suffolk.

Rescue - It took emergency services two hours to free Jae

It took four fire crews, an animal rescue unit, a vet and Graham’s tractor to release Jae.

His legs were stuck in sludge and silt with his head just above water level.

The firefighters and others worked for two hours until they were able to get Jae free.

Kirsty, who is an equine massage therapist, said she drove to Jaywick as soon as she got off the phone with the farm owners concerned for her 23-year-old horse’s life.

She said: “When I arrived it was apparent that Jae had been stuck there overnight in about six feet of water.

“He is a large horse and the water came up high on him so I was very scared.

Kirsty, who has had Jae for 14 years, does not know how he fell into the ditch.

She said: “Jae is normally a sensible horse but something must have really scared him in the night for him to break through his fence and fall into the ditch.

“By the time firefighters arrived the water was too deep for crews to access.

“They used a special floatation device and managed to strap ropes around him before Graham pulled him to safety with his tractor.”

A grateful Kirsty said: “They all did such a fantastic job and I cannot fault how brilliant everyone who helped was.

“I am so thankful that Jae was rescued and he’s lucky to be alive and uninjured.”

Sadly, a pony who shared its field with Kirsty’s horse died during the night from head trauma.