A horse has been rescued by firefighters after it fell up to 30ft down a cliff.

Crews were called to the scene north of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, at about 1.05pm on Thursday.

Around 30 firefighters - including rope rescue specialists and a heavy rescue unit - pulled the female horse to safety in an operation lasting around two and a half hours.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the horse is now back in its field and is "fine" following the incident at Coble Boards near Newtonhill.

Animal welfare charity the Scottish SPCA said the horse had fallen 20ft to 30ft.

Animal rescue officer Karen Hogg said: "When I arrived there was a sea of firemen, who were absolutely brilliant.

"Once the horse was safe my job was to get her cosy and make sure she got back up to a safe temperature.

"She's now safely back in the field with her owner and the vet will be checking up on her later tonight."

The fire service said its crews used heavy duty canvas strops to stabilise and secure the animal.

They were then attached to a tractor provided by a local farmer who came to help the rescue effort.

Firefighters winched the horse to safety after she was sedated.

Crews had earlier tried to coax the animal, named Tara, up the embankment but she had succumbed to fatigue.

A spokeswoman said: "The horse was then transferred to the care of the vet and its owner and after an initial assessment Tara was back to her usual self, running around her field."

Station manager Andy Buchan, who oversaw the operation, said: "This was a challenging incident and our firefighters did an outstanding job in very challenging conditions.

"We were able to use our specialist rescue skills and equipment to find a solution and, by working in close partnership with the vet, farmer and owner we were able to bring this to a safe conclusion.

"We are glad to see Tara happy and back in her field."