A horse that was running loose in Downham Market has died after falling 5ft into a pit.

Emergency crews were called at 4.20 this morning to rescue the distressed animal behind a disused cinema on Church Road in the town.

Appliances from Downham Market, King's Lynn and an Urban Search and Rescue crew and the police all attended the scene.

A spokesman for Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service said: 'They were there until just after 8pm which was quite a long time. It was tricky as they needed to knock a wall down to get to the horse.'

But despite all the emergency crew's best efforts, the horse had to be put down because of the severe injuries sustained to it's front quarters.