SEVEN horses left stranded on flooded land have been saved.

Floods saw the horses trapped by the Chelmer Road Viaduct Bridge in Chelmsford on Friday.

Four were rescued by the RSPCA and firefighters that afternoon but three had to be left until yesterday as fading light hampered the rescue effort.

Inspector Nicky Thorne who led the six-strong RSPCA rescue team said: "The rescue went very smoothly indeed.

"The team worked very carefully and slowly to move the horses.

"The horses were next to a shopping centre, a pub and a road so we had quite a few people watching."