An injured pony that was abandoned and left to die has been rescued by a Brentwood rescue centre.

Hopefield Animal Sanctuary received a call last week from a man in Bow who said the Welsh pony had been tied to his fence.

Although he already had horses, he was unable to look after the abandoned pony too and appealed to the Brentwood sanctuary to help.

Hopefield took her in on Saturday and Jess Roche, from the charity, said: “The man said he had spoken to everyone and could not find anyone to help with the pony. If no one could help she would have to be put to sleep, and we couldn’t allow that to happen to this little pony because no one wanted her.”

She added: “He said she seemed to be quite young, very frightened and seemed to have quite a bad leg injury. He said he did not know who had left the pony, and he had no idea what to do with a pony left to fend on her own in the city.”

She said that although they were on maximum capacity for the number of rescued horses on site they could not let her die.

They took the pony, which they called Crystal, on Saturday, and said she looked petrified, but she calmed down in the stable.

A vet checked her and found her leg had rotated to the side and likely to be from the arthritis in her neck, due to a serious injury, probably caused by her previous owners.

Jess added: “The sad reality for Crystal is she now will have to be on medication for the rest of her life, although she seems to be responding well to the treatment.

“She is still very frightened and still is not completely sure about the sanctuary’s visitors, but she is calming down rapidly, now she realises she is safe. She will have many visits from the vet over the next few months, and hopefully the future will be bright for this very special pony.”

You can visit Crystal at the Hopefield Animal Sanctuary every day between 1pm and 5pm.