A horse which was killed in an accident involving a car and a lorry was rescued from a horse pound just four months ago.

The coloured cob, called Jacko, belonged to Hillside Animal Sanctuary and escaped from a field near Acle early this morning.

Five-year-old Jacko was hit by a car - an orange Peugeot 207 - which then hit an articulated lorry.

No one was seriously injured in the crash, which happened just before 6am between the Acle roundabout and Stokesby New Road, Billocky.

The elderly man driving the car was treated for minor injuries, but Jacko sadly died.

Wendy Valentine, who runs the Frettenham-based sanctuary, said she and her staff were all in shock.

She said: 'The horse was one who came from a horse pound. He had gone through a newly-erected fence and went down into the dyke and into the road.

'We have lots of horses grazing out on the Acle fields and they're all checked twice a day.

'But we don't know exactly what happened. The police contacted us and we had someone on the road out there within two minutes.

'Of all the thousands of horses I've seen this has never happened before.'

Jacko had come to Mrs Valentine four months ago, from a pound where unwanted horses usually end up.

'We're totally shocked,' Mrs Valentine said. 'The staff are not in a good way.'

'Jacko had palled up with another horse and was grazing, the lady who kept them for us had checked on them and said they were fine and calm.'

She said there was a saving grace in that Jacko would have died instantly and that no people were hurt.

'Our best wishes go to the people who were involved and who stopped to help,' she said.

The charity has been taking in animals in need since 1995 - and Mrs Valentine previously founded Redwings Horse Sanctury in 1984.

Last year Hillside rescued more than 300 horses, and had a staggering 1,200 horses, ponies and donkeys, 300 cows, 500 sheep and 70 dogs under its care.

The road reopened at around 9am.