A whinny through the pain was enough for owner Diana Watts to decide she would battle against the odds to save her beloved horse.

Biff, a ten-year-old gelding, was badly burnt when arsonists set fire to his stable.

His skin so charred by the fire his owner Diana Watts could not even recognise his tell-tale brown and white piebald skin.

However, the brave horse is now in expert care at a top equine hospital.

It is hard to understand how anyone could knowingly hurt an animal.

But thanks to the care of dedicated veterinary surgeons and the love of his owner it looks like the fighting horse has not run its final furlong.

Meanwhile, the mission to rescue donkeys, Shetland ponies and dogs from an abysmal existence in Greece has demanded great dedication.

They had been left in appalling conditions after being abandoned and probably would have met their death without the efforts of the various charities.

With a shoe-string budget, they managed to transport them to safety, away from the suffering they had endured for so long in their homeland.

Now, four of the donkeys are being groomed back to health at the Brownbread Rescue Centre in Battle.

Such organisations as Brownbread operate with scant funds, scant resources and scant praise. They deserve all the recognition they get.