A young bull had to be rescued by firefighters after it got stuck 15 ft down a ditch.

The bullock was discovered in an extremely distressed state after leaping a fence and falling into the deep ravine at Ridham Dock in Iwade.

RSPCA animal rescue officers Emily Hoad and Lynn White worked with KFRS’ animal rescue and technical rescue units to help recover the steer on Tuesday.

Crews cleared a route through undergrowth to access the animal, and then lead it to safety.

Emily explained: “This was a tricky rescue, the steer was huge and would have posed a danger to us and the public, so we needed to work together to get him out.

“Sometimes with rescues like this, we work together with the fire service as they have equipment which we don’t carry.

“We also had the help of a vet who sedated him, and he managed to free himself from the ditch in the end. The vet checked him over and thankfully he was unharmed.

“With patience, teamwork and excellent coordination from the fire and rescue supervisor he was finally guided back to the farmer’s land.”

The RSPCA urges anyone who sees an animal which needs rescuing to consult the charity’s website for advice on what to do, and who can help.