A donkey called Eeyore has been rescued from a disused well in Northamptonshire.
It took five fire crews, including specialist animal handlers and line rescue firefighters three hours to lift the frightened donkey out of the well next to the cemetery in the village of Rothwell. No one knows how long Eeyore had been trapped.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Sally Manton, Watch Manager in the control centre at Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The donkey was trapped in freezing cold water right up to its neck. It had obviously been there for some time as it was suffering from the cold.
“A local vet sedated the animal to keep it calm and then the firefighters lifted it out.” RSPCA inspector Cherry Evans dried Eeyore and then wrapped him in a heat-retaining foil blanket and comforted him while his owner was called.
Inspector Evans said: “It is amazing that the donkey escaped with only a few scratches and it is thanks to the person who spotted him and the firefighters from Kettering The Mount, Desborough, Mereway, and Wellingborough that he is alive and well.
“When i got there i had to calm down a chestnut mare welsh pony in the next field that was very distressed at the plight of the donkey. Eeyore is only two years old and he was very very lucky. If he’d been in the well for much longer he’d have drowned.”
Ms Manton said it’s not an unusual problem for animals to tumble into the many disused wells that dot the countryside: “We’ve had donkeys down wells before and we have specialists who deal in animal and line rescue. We also work with RAF Croughton when we need to airlift an animal from a sticky situation.”
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
