'Horror-filled panic' as donkeys get stuck in pond

A farmer said "expletives were screamed" and he had gone into into a "horror-filled panic" when two of his donkeys got stuck in a muddy pond before being rescued by firefighters.

Mother and daughter Ebony and Gill, who live at Brimwood Farm, near Halesworth, Suffolk, became "heavily" trapped on Wednesday morning.

Vets as well as fire crews from Lowestoft South, Halesworth and Wrentham were called to the scene at 10:00 BST before freeing the 13-year-old and the 25-year-old by 13:00.

Geoffrey Wakeling, who owns the site, said Gill had got stuck when she followed him into the pond as he tried in vain to free Ebony after finding her "shoulder-deep" in mud.

"Without rain the ponds have dried and Ebony was wedged – there was the most awful moaning from her lips as she limply struggled," he said.

"I ran to get a spade and, as I sprinted back to her aid in a horror-filled panic, Gill followed me and, within seconds, also got stuck.

"One moment she is plodding across to see what's happening and then one hoof gone, another, and then she too couldn't get out. Expletives were screamed."

Wakeling, who admitted being "beyond shattered" after the ordeal, gave his "immeasurable thanks" to the firefighters, and to Chapelfield Vets for their advice on moving the donkeys and administering sedations and medication.

Gill was "fairly fine" after being pulled out of the pond but Ebony was "not great".

"Gill, I think, just wanted a spa day, but Ebony couldn't bear her weight and was held in the hoist for almost an hour and we feared she wouldn't make it," Wakeling said.

"She has been very slowly moved to the barn to recuperate with a bucket of meds to take over the coming days."

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