chunter@thekmgroup.co.uk

Abandoned in life, and abandoned in death too.

This poor foal, now nothing more than a sorry rotting hump poking above the waters of the River Beult, near Hunton, was found dead more than a month ago.

seems to care.Donna WilliamsBut no one apart from

Mrs Williams, 44, of nearby Water Lane, reported the grim discovery to police back in February, but was told it wasn't a police matter, so she phoned Maidstone Council, which said it wasn't its responsibility either.

"They passed it to Kent County Council, but they haven't been out," said Mrs Williams.

"The poor little thing is still lying there, dead.

"Someone, somewhere, is looking for their little horse."

How the young animal met its end is a mystery but it seems likely the cold snap at the start of February played its part.

Icy conditions perhaps could have caused it to slip into the river with snowfall then hiding its falling place - surrounded by acres of open land - from its mother or owners.

"When it was really cold it was frozen over with ice," said Mrs Williams. "Then it started to thaw and I saw a pony."

KCC said it did not deal with animals in the river, and it was a matter for the Environment Agency - who the Kent Messenger informed last week.

But a week on, the foal still remains.

"It's still down there," said Mrs Williams. "I thought somebody would have come forward to say 'I've lost my horse'.

"I'm shocked."