A donkey has been freed from a drain in a rescue operation that took almost five hours.
The donkey, named Noah, fell into a seven-foot storm drain in Heydon, Cambridgeshire, at around 6.30pm on Monday (17 August).
Noah ended up in the drain because metal thieves stole the cover from his field, a stable worker said.
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
When firefighters and a rescue vehicle arrived at the field, Noah’s head was just above the surface of the water.
Crews pumped the water out of the drain and an digger was used to clear the surrounding area.
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
Firefighters used shovels to assist the clearance.
Noah was then lifted from the drain using large animal rescue equipment.
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
He was exhausted, but not injured, and was left in the care of a vet and his owner.
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
“We’d like to thank everyone who came to help, particularly the machine driver and veterinary staff for all their great work and support,” said crew commander Jeff Whitlam.
“The crew worked tremendously hard with persistence and professionalism in what was a long and difficult rescue. It was a great team effort with everyone there and thankfully it had a happy ending.”
ISPCA rescue
Last year (28 February, 2014) horseandhound.co.uk reported that a horse had died after becoming trapped in a drain, despite an eight-hour rescue effort by the ISPCA.
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The skewbald horse wasdiscovered chest deep in drain water near the Grand Canal in Ireland. She was taken out of the water but was very weak, borderline hypothermic and in very poor physical condition.
The horse was treated by a vet and did show some interest in food, but her condition did not improve and she had to be put down.
