Watch: Dramatic moment horses rescued from sinking mud

These pictures sent in by Joan Holden show the moment volunteer lifeboat crew from RNLI Fleetwood helped rescue two horses and their young riders from the mud at Knott End yesterday, Sunday September 18.

The drama started around 2pm when the Skipperof the Knott End ferry spotted the two young girls on their horses, in troubleand seemingly stuck in the mud. The Coastguard was alerted and they contactedFleetwood lifeboat for assistance. But the horses managed to free themselves andthe lifeboat crew was stood down.

However, minutes later, the horses sank in the soft sand and mud and the volunteer lifeboat crew launched the inshore lifeboat to assist the Coastguard. Both riders were quickly rescued, but then the race against one of the highest tides of the year was on. With water rising nearly a foot every five minutes, one horse was quickly freed, but it became clear that the second horse was stuck fast.

The Knott End ferry was used to transport help from Fleetwood Coastguard and additional volunteer lifeboat crew members. Wyre Fire Brigade also came to offer their expertise to the rapidly deteriorating situation. After struggling with the exhausted horse for nearly an hour and with water around the neck of the animal, it eventually got free from the mud and clearly exhausted, took a short time to recover before being led ashore.

Captain David Eccles, Lifeboat Operations Manager for RNLI Fleetwood said: