A BOLTON woman who plunged into a freezing canal with her horse spoke today of her ordeal.

As reported in yesterday's BEN, Josephine Davies, 33, of Ainsdale Road, Great Lever, was dragged backwards into the Bridgewater Canal at Boothstown after her horse bolted.

Miss Davies said: "It just happened so quickly I didn't really think of being scared. I was with my daughter and my friend when my friend's horse shied at a dog barking.

Stirrups

"It backed up into my daughter's horse and my horse just went backwards into the canal.

"I don't remember swimming, all I remember is hanging onto the side of the canal."

Luckily Miss Booth was prevented from being dragged under the icy water after she came free from the stirrups as she fell.

But she could not climb the steep sides and had to be pulled out by the dog's owner, whose identity is not known.

Her five-year-old horse, Murphy, was trapped in the canal but managed to keep its head above water. Firefighters threw ropes around the animal and led it in the water half-a-mile to where the bank was less steep.

Eventually they hauled him out after an hour-and-a-half with help from nearby farmer John Harrison.

Miss Davies, who works at Cohens Chemists on St Helens Road, suffered from the effects of the cold and a bump to the head. The horse was also affected by cold but was unharmed.

Miss Davies said: "I would like to thank the dog walker who pulled me out. I didn't get his name at the time because I was quite hysterical and was desperate to get Murphy out. I thought at one point he was going to die.

"I am going to treasure him all the more now, thanks to everyone who helped, especially Mr Harrison."

She had been riding back to Mr Harrison's farm, where her horse is stabled, alongside her daughter Natalie Davies, 10, and her female friend.

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