The body of a horse was dragged from a watery grave by members of the public.

The female Welsh Cobb was discovered in Fray’s River off Packet Boat Lane, Cowley, on Monday morning, its hooves bound with rope. It was wearing a red horse jacket.

A 21-year-old woman was alerted to the situation by her father who works nearby.

“For someone like me who loves horses and treats them like children I find this absolutely disgusting,” said the woman, whose family owns horses and who asked not to be named.

She said after making enquiries, there was some confusion as to which authority was responsible for removing the dead horse.

“In the end me and my mum had to pull her up the bank ourselves”, said the woman.

“I had to get in the water to get to the horse. She was so heavy because she’d been in the water and was just a dead weight.”

Because of the leg ropes, the woman believes the black horse had been dragged down to the water.

“She looked underweight, you could see all her bones,” said the woman.

Once the body had been removed, those who had helped were keen to get it scanned for a microchip, in an attempt identify the owner.

“That is the only way to find out who did this,” she said.

By Monday evening the mare’s removal had still not been arranged, so she was covered with a blanket and left on the bank overnight.

On Tuesday morning, ‘fallen stock’ company, Holts, of Hertfordhsire, removed the body at the request of Hillingdon Council.

In a statement, the RSPCA said: “There is no evidence to explain how the horse ended up here and whether it was a deliberate act or whether the animal slipped or had some kind of accident.”

They say they are checking on the welfare of other horses in the area.

“In situations like this when the horse's owner is unknown, the landowner is legally responsible for the removal of dead animals on their property. We were alerted to the sad situation on Monday and made several phone calls to inform the relevant authorities that the body needed to be removed. On Tuesday we were told this had happened.”

They urge anyone with information to contact them on 0300 1234 999.

Hillingdon police say they were called on Monday afternoon in relation to a horse in the river.

They are yet to confirm if they have opened an investigation.

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Last week the RSPCA was kept busy when a curious cat was found trapped in the air conditioning unit of the Pavilions shopping centre.



They urged anyone with information to call 0300 1234 999.