Teenager trapped under dead horse

A teenage girl who was trapped under her horse when it collapsed on a beach was saved from drowning in the rising tidal waters.

Rebecca Strange, 18, from Pilgrims Hatch, Essex, was stuck under the horse in almost three feet of water after it had a heart attack and died at Shoeburyness, near Southend.

Four other girls she had been riding with raised the alarm before the father of one of them drove his Range Rover into the water and managed to winch the animal off her.

She was rescued by a lifeboat and treated for minor injuries and seawater inhalation at nearby Southend Hospital.

Natalie Johnson, 16, from Cocksty Green, Essex, and Anna Marie Masti, from Pilgrims Hatch, were also treated for shock in hospital.

Two other riders caught up in the drama, Amy MacRitchie, 14, from Brentwood, and Nicola Berm, 18, of Hornchurch, escaped injury.

Bruce Lacker, a spokesman for Southend coastguard, said: "The girl is very lucky to be alive. She could easily have drowned in the water.

"It's thanks to the quick actions of the father who drove his 4x4 into the waters that she survived.

"She had swallowed water and was clearly unwell. He got her into the Range Rover. Two other girls were suffering from shock.

"In the meantime one of the other horses bolted, throwing one of the girls into the water, but she wasn't badly injured."