Shire horse owners elated after rescue in Devon

Emma Crowe called Ben a "big gentle giant" and is hopeful he will make a full recovery

The owners of a large shire horse who became trapped in a ditch have spoken of their "complete elation" to watch him being successfully rescued.

Ben got stuck in a deep ditch at Ashwater in Devon last week.

He was lifted by a specialist fire rescue team using a telehandler, and a vet was also on hand.

Owner Emma Crowe said there were "quite a few teary eyes, and everyone was smiling when he was standing there eating grass [afterwards]".

Fire crews received the call for assistance on Wednesday 15 February

After being lifted to safety, seven-year-old Ben immediately started to munch on grass as he was so hungry.

Ms Crowe said: "He is just such a lovely horse; but also you build a bond and feel connected with the horse ... if I could have him in the house, I would".

After initially calling the vet for her "big gentle giant", they called 999 and said the response was "incredible".

Fire crews quickly attended, followed by a specialist animal rescue team with a telehandler.

The horse measures 19 hands tall (6ft 4in) to its withers - which is the bottom of its neck

She said: "He is such a character and seeing him laying helplessly in the ditch and vulnerable was devastating.

"There was a massive sigh of relief when he actually took weight onto his legs and just stood there.

"There wasn't one person who wasn't slightly emotional about the whole thing. I can't explain it.

"It was just complete elation and just standing here with him now like this is amazing."

Ben is being kept indoors at the farm for the time being, along with some lambs

Trevor Heath initially found Ben in the ditch when he went out to give him his morning feed, and said "for a big horse he looked tiny - it was awful."

He said they were relieved that Ben was not badly injured but he was still "a little bit sore".

"It is going to be a lot of TLC over the next few weeks.

"But, together with us and an amazing vet Zoe Marsh, we are hoping he is going to make a full recovery," he said.