Pony rescued from Shropshire slurry pit on the road to recovery
A pony which had to be rescued by Shropshire firefighters from an underground slurry pit is showing signs of recovery, his owner has said.
Seven-month-old Chester was looking "much brighter" yesterday after he was found in the trench, on farmland on Westcott Lane in Goldstone, near Market Drayton, the previous day.
Fire crews from Market Drayton and Wellington spent more than an hour removing the animal from the hole using specialist animal rescue equipment at about 8.30am.
Chester had been left shaken by the fall and is believed to have suffered a puncture wound behind one of his knees.
His owner Christine Ebben said: "He is much brighter and seems to be back to his cheeky self. But he has got a leg wound which is infected because of all the slurry that he was covered in.
"It is an open wound and we have had to leave it that way because of the infection coming out of it.
"The vet came out today to check over him and is coming back again tomorrow.
"They said day three is usually the time when they can see if it is likely to improve or not. They will also make a decision on whether he needs to be referred to an equine hospital."
Chester was discovered to be missing by Judi Martin, joint owner of the equine yard.
She said he had managed to get through tape and barriers before falling into the pit.
She added the pit is located on the edge of their land but she was not sure who it belongs to.
Mark Smith, from Market Drayton Fire Station, said on arrival they found Chester to be completely up to his neck in slurry and had to quickly secure a line to him to stop him going under.
He described the rescue as "challenging" due to the location of the pit.
