A horse had to be rescued after it fell into a swimming pool last night.

Fire crews from St Albans were called to Goffs Oak after reports of a horse who had fallen into a swimming pool at around 10pm last night.

A specialist animal rescue crew from Hatfield were called to assist and managed to successfully rescue Dolly the horse.

Richard Thake, in charge of community safety at Hertfordshire County Council, said: "Thankfully, the horse called Dolly, is now safe and warm and has been reunited with her owners, after being checked over by a vet.

“Our firefighters rescued her by pumping most of the water from the pool to reduce the risk of her developing hypothermia.

"They then built a ramp made of bales of straw provided by local farmers and used ropes and a harness to lead her out to safety.

"This ingenious solution was suggested by one of our quick thinking firemen. Although Dolly was very cold, she stayed relatively calm throughout the rescue.

“While we are happy to assist in incidents like this one when we are available and able to do so, our crews will always priorities incidents which involve any risks to humans.

"This is a timely reminder for residents to make sure that they keep all animals and pets safe and secure”