Northern Ireland: Firefighters save tiny donkey from muddy drain - and warm her up with gingery treat

A little white donkey called Snowie had been saved from a sticky situation, and recuperated with some special treats.

In a post on Facebook, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) outlined how the daring Saturday afternoon rescue went down. Shortly after 1pm, the County Antrim on-call crew were called to an incident where a donkey had become trapped in a drain, they wrote.

"Using manual handling techniques and improvisation the crew successfully rescued the donkey. Well done to all." Photos taken at the scene showed the little white donkey lying on its side in the mud, before it was lifted free with a hoist attached to a digger.

Firefighters were then pictured feeding the exhausted looking animal ginger nut biscuits, as it lay on the ground recovering from its ordeal. A woman, who appeared to be the little donkey's owner, replied to the post to thank the force. "I can’t emphasise enough how grateful my family are to all who came to assist with Snowie’s rescue yesterday," she wrote.

"NIFRS North were incredibly quick to respond, and very considerate of Snowie’s condition. She’s since been warmed up, dried off and treated for her injuries - she fared well overnight and is much happier today," the woman added.

A NIFRS spokesperson replied that they were pleased to hear that Snowie was on the mend, and wished the little donkey and her family a happy - and hopefully incident-free Christmas.