A GRATEFUL horse owner baked a cake for firefighters after they rescued her pet from a 6ft deep pond using a digger.

Danni the horse was grazing peacefully in her owner Wendy Bunting’s field in Gorefield when she turned and fell into the pond.

Her owners and neighbours immediately jumped in to try and save her but found the horse couldn’t muster the strength to climb up the steep banks of the pond.

Even when firefighters strapped the 28-year-old horse into a harness, Danni’s arthritis and breathing difficulties meant they could not haul her out.

Undeterred, crews from Wisbech and Dogsthorpe used a JCB to dig out the side of the bank so Danni could walk to safety.

Mrs Bunting said: “It was a lucky escape. She is an old girl with many health difficulties.

“We wouldn’t have got her out without the help of the fire service. Without them, it would have been a different outcome.”

Danni was immediately checked over by Isle of Ely Veterinary Practice after the incident in Chalk Road on Sunday.

Mrs Bunting had feared Danni could suffer a heart attack at any moment because of her breathing difficulties but the horse was found to have emerged unscathed.

Danni is now back in her stable without as much as a scratch to show for her two-hour ordeal.

Mrs Bunting made a cake for Wisbech firefighters and presented it to them on Wednesday to say thank you for their help.

She also thanked neighbours Paul Bhogal and Tony Jarvis, as well as her parents Tom and Christie Penning and her husband Robin.

Harry Edge, incident commander for the fire service, said it was a “difficult rescue”. He said: “We received a lot of help from those nearby including a farmer with a teleporter, a neighbour with a JCB and another neighbour who helped to keep the horse calm, who I would like to publicly thank for their assistance.”