A mare and foal had to be rescued after a power transformer exploded and set fire to their stable.

Firefighters were called to stables in Trottiscliffe, shortly after 2pm yesterday but arrived to find the stables almost totally destroyed by fire.

Watch manager Mitchell Kelly from Larkfield Fire Station said the fire had started when an 11,000 to 415 volt transformer “exploded”, setting light to grass below. The resulting fire then spread to the nearby stable.

He said: “When we got there a guy had got a mare and a foal out of there; if he hadn’t got them out they would have died.”

He said the horses had been distressed by the incident and were moved further from the site, while fire crews from Thames-Side and Larkfield stations tackled the blaze.

The 49ft by 26ftstables were said to be 90 per cent destroyed by the fire.

Crews left the stable at 4pm.