Firefighters used a winch to rescue a helpless horse which became stuck in a swimming pool.

The stricken animal had to be pulled out of the shallow end of the open air pool using a farm telehandler in a two-hour rescue operation.

Fire crews were called after the horse plunged into the water after trotting over the fabric pool cover.

He had escaped from nearby stables before ending up trapped in the pool in his owner's back garden in Knossington, Leics., last Friday 3 March.

Firefighters from Oakham and Southern fire stations rushed to the scene at 7.55am.

They found the horse had moved himself to the shallow end of the swimming pool but could not get up the steps.

After sedating the horse, a specialist animal rescue team used local farmyard equipment and a harness to winch him to safety.

Crews also pumped out the water from the swimming pool for the animal's safety as there were concerns about hypothermia.

Matt Basey, a firefighter from Oakham Station, said: "It was our second horse rescue within 48 hours. 

"We pumped some water out of the pool as we were concerned that the horse could have been getting extremely cold.

"Technical rescue assisted with the rescue."

Crew manager Martin Hugo joked: "I'm not sure whether I'm just coming across lots of clumsy horses."

Specialist vets treated the horse after he was hauled to safety before he was returned to his stables unharmed.