RESCUERS led horses to safety after they were trapped in a trailer in a crash that closed the Puddletown bypass, near Dorchester.

Firefighters cut free two animals from the horse-box after their owner's Ford Ranger pick-up car jack-knifed at the Tolpuddle Ball junction on the A35 road.

Motorists faced delays as police shut the bypass while the horses were saved and the road was cleared of debris.

A Dorset Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "A vet sedated the horses before firefighters released them from the trailer.

"They weren't seriously injured and were taken away." The accident happened when the woman driver, from a farm near Dorchester, was driving towards Dorchester on the A35 at 11am yesterday. The driver was unhurt.

The horse-box jack-knifed and rolled onto its side in the accident. Witnesses should call Dorchester traffic police on (01305) 251212.