Fire service steps up to remove dead horse from Northampton river ahead of trading standards investigation

Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue has stepped up to remove a dead horse from the River Nene after the Environment Agency said it wasn't their responsibility.

A dead horse that has been floating in Northampton's River Nene for nearly a week will be removed by the fire service.

Hundreds of readers haveshared their distress this week after the Chronicle & Echo reported this week on the pony floating near to Clifford Hill Lock, close to Billing Aquadrome.

But residents also responded with anger to the official response by the Environment Agency that they intended not to do anything about it and advised to let it rot.

Now, Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue has announced it is taking upon themselves to remove the horse - ahead of a trading standards investigation into who it could belong to.

A tweet on the Northants Fire service reads: "The Fire & Rescue Service is assisting the Trading Standards team at Northamptonshire County Council by removing a dead horse in the River Nene at Clifford Hill near Billing Aquadrome. We’ll do this as quickly and safely as possible to allow Trading Standards to investigate."

On Wednesday, the Chron provided the Environment Agency with the exact location of the horse, which is caught on a weir behind a line of floats close to Billing Aquadrome.

The public body's response read: "The horse will naturally decompose without causing pollution in the river.

“The responsibility of removing the horse lies with the owner of the horse, no one has come forward at this stage.

"We would only remove the horse if it was causing an obstruction which could pose as a flood risk – this is not the case."

"It's a disgrace," said a Northampton canal boat owner who first told the Chron about the adrift pony.

"You think they would use their brains. If you own a boat it's bad enough picking people's rubbish out off your propeller. But pieces of a decomposing horse, that is not funny. It's like they can't be bothered.

"Of course no one is going to come forward and claim ownership.

"Can you imagine what the smell will be like in summer? Or what will happen to pets and animals or children who play in the water down river?"