THESE are the dramatic scenes as police officers and firefighters rescued three neglected ponies.

It was back in April when The RSPCA received a report about the Shetland ponies at Piddinghoe near Newhaven.

The animals had little human contact before their rescue so the RSPCA asked police and fire services to help because capture pens had to be used.

The charity’s vehicles couldn’t access the area, making the rescue very tricky.

They rounded up the ponies and transported them to safety in

an operation which took several hours.

Now the emergency service heroes have been honoured by the charity.

The Seaford crew from East Sussex Fire and Rescue, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Technical Response Unit (TRU), Matthew Holt from Sussex Police and Sara Smith and Claire Gordon from World Horse Welfare all helped.

RSPCA Chief Inspector Patrick Hamby said: “The RSPCA works very closely with the emergency services and we are always incredibly grateful for any help we receive from them.

“This was a multi-agency job and the help of East Sussex and West Sussex Fire Services, as well as Sussex Police and World Horse Welfare were vital in ensuring that we could rescue the horses from poor conditions.

“We wanted to officially thank the emergency services for their efforts and recognise their support and hard work.”

The Shetland ponies were taken into the care of World Horse Welfare where they were looked after and have recovered.

Incident Commander Tony McCord at East Sussex Fire and

Rescue said: “We assisted the RSPCA, Police and horse sanctuary along with the TRU team from West Sussex.

“The ponies had not had any human contact and been neglected for an extended period of time and were in desperate need of care, one of them being in foal.

“As a team we all helped round up the ponies into the pens so they could be sedated, inspected and then put into horse boxes for transporting to the sanctuary.”

Michael Lewin, technical rescue unit manager at West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said: “I am

very pleased this incident

resulted in a positive outcome for the horses.

“I would like to thank our team and the other agencies involved for their collaborative efforts.

“It is great to see they have been recognised for their hard work and efforts by the RSPCA.”

The national charity rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes animals in desperate need of care.

Its national headquarters are in Southwater, Horsham.

A spokesman said: “Our vision is a society where no animal suffers unnecessarily, where thoughtfulness, care and respect are shown towards all animals.

“And that starts with young people.

“We’ve been supporting teachers to develop informed, responsible and active citizens for many years, through free lesson plans and teaching resources.

“Young children are being exposed to horrific incidents of animal suffering online, in ways previous generations have simply not experienced.

“Our latest report, Building A Kinder Generation, reveals nearly a quarter of school children aged ten to 18 have witnessed animal cruelty and neglect on social media.”