A BOLTON woman was dragged into a canal by her horse when the animal bolted.

Josephine Davis, of Ainsdale Road, Great Lever, was still in the saddle as the horse suddenly jumped into the Bridgewater Canal at Boothtown.

Mrs Davis managed to free her feet from the stirrups and swam to safety near Moss House Lane.

But her five-year-old horse Murphy was trapped in the canal - luckily with its head above the water.

Firefighters threw ropes around the animal and managed to lead it in the water half a mile to where the bank was less steep.

Eventually they hauled it out of the water after an hour and a half with help from nearby farmer John Harrison.

Mrs Davis, in her 30s, suffered from the effects of cold but was uninjured. Her horse was also affected by cold but was uninjured.

She had been riding alongside her young daughter, who was also on a horse, when something startled Mrs Davis's mount.

Eccles fire station sub officer Wayne Shields said: "I was quite chuffed with the effort the lads put in to get the horse out because it was quite a laborious task."

Paramedics treated Mrs Davis at a nearby farm for cold.

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