A Miniature Shetland pony which was the victim of an horrific sex attack is recovering well.

The two-year-old baby called Laurell - found badly injured, dehydrated and distressed in a field near Ashton-under-Lyne on Sunday - is still on pain-killers but is now coming to her stable door and allowing children to pet her, according to her owner.

The animal had been lured from her stables during Saturday night before the sex attack which left her with two separate internal injuries .

Her owner Ashleigh Butterworth, 20, told the M.E.N: “She’s getting there. She’s coming around a lot more now. The medication is working wonders. The wounds are still there but they are not as bad as they were.

“It’s been nearly a week and she’s getting there. She will come to the door and doesn’t kick out. She’s the nicest pony you will ever meet.

"Children visited yesterday and she let them brush her. She wasn’t nervous or jumping. She just stood there and let them do it.

“She’s going to be on these drugs for a while but she’s on the road to recovery. She’ll be on medication for the next two weeks at least. I’m sure she should be fine.

“The support from the farm has been absolutely amazing. Everyone is going out to check on her before they see their own horse. Everyone is looking out for her.”

Ashleigh, works for a law firm, said she hoped her going public would prevent a future attack and expressed thanks for the thousands of good wishes expressed to her directly and as the M.E.N. story was shared widely on social media.

“The support has been amazing,” she said. “It’s been so nice to get that feedback from people. My phone did not stop ringing. I’m just happy that the word has got about.”