Escaped horse rescued from Dorset swimming pool

The horse stepped on the swimming pool cover after escaping from a field

A horse had to be rescued from a swimming pool in Dorset after escaping from a field during the night.

Firefighters were called to a house in Motcombe, near Shaftesbury, at about 08:30 BST.

The 25-year-old male horse, called Apollo, had stepped on the pool cover and fallen into a metre of water.

Dorset Fire and Rescue crews pumped the water out, and used wooden boards and hay bales to create a ramp to lead the horse to safety.

Shaftesbury station manager Andy Fox said: "Unfortunately Apollo sustained some minor injuries to his back legs after falling into the pool, but when we left him he was being treated on site by the vet."