Fire crews spent several hours rescuing a 15-year-old horse who had become trapped in a ditch in a village near Newmarket.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service was called to the incident in Station Road, Dullingham, at about 7.30am on Saturday.

A total of six crews from Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge fire stations were dispatched to the scene to rescue a horse called Joka.

A stop was called by the fire service almost three hours later at 10.05am.

Belinda Rose, a friend of Joka's owner, praised the emergency services for their efforts and revealed he had to be sedated while firefighters hoisted him to safety.

She said: "They were worried as it was a sink hole so the ground wasn’t necessarily strong enough for the trucks to pull him from but they were fantastic in terms of getting the straps around him to stop him falling in while they made their plan."