THREE horses died and seven were rescued after a road accident in Hampshire yesterday.

Hampshire animal rescue specialists and fire crews rescued seven horses following a serious collision on the A303 near Andover.

The trailer, carrying 10 horses in total, was in collision with another lorry on the eastbound carriageway near Thruxton just before 4pm.

With the trailer containing the animals on its side, three animal rescue specialists worked with vets to first sedate the animals and then remove them one by one from the overturned vehicle.

Watch Manager Jim Green said: “This was one of the most difficult and challenging animal rescues we have been called to in Hampshire.

“Generally we get called to deal with the rescue of one animal so to deal with 10 horses in one incident was significant.

“We quickly put a plan in place and our crews managed to cut away part of the back door of the trailer. We were able to corral each of the animals out of the trailer and triage them as they exited.”

Thanks to the efforts of the crews, seven of the horses survived and were taken to veterinary hospital.

One horse was killed in the collision while two more had to be put down at the scene. The drivers of the two lorries were not seriously hurt.

Crews from Andover, Winchester, Brockenhurst, Eastleigh and Lyndhurst assisted with the rescue of the animals.

Hampshire Police are investigating the incident and anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact the Roads Policing Unit at Whitchurch on 101.