HAPLESS horses kept firefighters on their toes when one of the adventurous beasts found its way into the River Severn - less than 24 hours after they had to rescue another of Wyre Forests' four-legged inhabitants.

No sooner had crews got an ageing horse at a Cookley animal centre back on its feet than they were called out to the Severn at Bewdley where an excitable equine was caught in the current.

Firefighters first came to the rescue of a 33-year-old mare at Debdale Equine Centre in Cookley on Friday.

Sub-officer Pete Smith, of Kidderminster Fire Station, said airbags normally brought out to road crashes were used to lift the animal, which was lying on its side and unable to get up.

He said: "We had to raise its position so it was lying on its stomach so it could recover.

"It took about two hours overall and we later heard the horse got back on its feet."

But the horse-related drama did not end there. At 9.40am the next day, firefighters were called out to the Severn to save the lengthy neck of another unfortunate creature.

Sub-officer Smith explained: "It looked like it had slipped down the riverbank from a nearby farm. We lost sight of the horse - we thought it might have gone under water and then it was seen about half a mile downstream on the other side of the river.

"We found it in a relatively shallow part of the river but it didn't seem too concerned.

"We managed to entice it forward and put a rope around its neck to get it back onto the bank."

He added: "The horse was as good as gold."