EFFORTS by a village community to help a young stray horse have ended in sadness.

On Tuesday morning the foal was spotted in a field near Orsett and it appeared to be injured and in a state of distress.

Villagers turned out to try and capture the animal and after several attempts they were able to catch it and a vet and the RSPCA were alerted to examine it.

Meantime, knowing that it was likely that there would be bills to pay, a local fundraising page was set up and quickly raised nearly £1,000.

No one came forward to show ownership of the horse and an appeal was put out on social media. It is still not known who owned the horse or where it came from.

However, in the meantime, examinations showed the horse's injuries, which included a gash on its leg and chest cuts possibly caused by barbed wire, and an infection were serious and in the end experts decided the only option was for the suffering animal to be humanely put down.