Three miniature ponies escaped from would-be thieves by cantering along the A127.

Cookie, Tinkerbell and Pebbles went walkabout until they were eventually found roaming in a Brentwood country park.

The miniature Shetland ponies disappeared on Monday from Donna’s Farmyard, in St Mary’s Lane, West Horndon.

Owner Donna Burnett, 26, was alerted when a friend said he had seen the horses cantering along the A127 at about 10am.

She believes they were about to be loaded into a white transit van when they escaped their captors.

Donna said: “I think they were at risk because Cookie is a lemon and white pony, which is quite a rare colour. Horses aren’t making money, but mini Shetlands do towards the summer because kids ride them.”

Donna sought help at a nearby industrial estate to ask if anyone had seen the animals and left her contact number.

She got an anonymous phone call telling her two men had been seen trying to load the ponies into a van.

Donna wrote about the incident on Facebook and a friend posted an image of the ponies trotting along the A127, asking: “Are these your horses, hun?”

Donna eventually found the ponies in Thorndon Country Park, on Tuesday.

She said: “We are really happy we have got them back and that they are unharmed.”

Insp Neil Barrett, from Grays Police, said: “We’re keen to speak to anyone who was in the area at the time who may have seen this van or know who is responsible.”

n Anyone with information should call 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.