Firefighters had to rescue a pony impaled on a 3ft garden fence on the Holme Wood estate earlier today.
Rescuers used specialist hydraulic cutters to free the distressed animal after it was sedated first by a vet.
The alarm was raised just after midnight after the pony tried to jump out of the garden it was in at Denbury Mount and over the metal railings topped by semi-circles and three inch spikes.
Watch commander Gary Hatton from Cleckheaton Fire Station said: ‘‘We don’t know what spooked the pony but it had tried to get over the fence. It had almost cleared it until it got impaled just in front of its rear legs.
‘‘We called an equine vet who semi-sedated the animal but not too much so it would flop even more onto the fence and then we used cutters to remove the railings either side.’’
Watch commander Hatton said noise had to be kept to the minimum with a crowd of onlookers being asked to stay quiet and not distress the pony even more.
After it was freed, the animal was taken into the care of the vet and the RSPCA who were also at the scene.
Watch Comm Hatton said: ‘‘The vet thought at the time it might just be superficial wounds but needed to get a better look. I think it had a lucky escape, it was looking quite good for it, considering what could have happened.’’