Vets who helped save a foal on the brink of death is appealing for help to raise £11,000 to treat a critically-ill mare.

Catley Cross Veterinary Clinic, based in Wickham St Paul, made headlines when it took in Gizmo and nursed him back to health after he was found extremely underweight, hypothermic, dehydrated and had pneumonia in February.

The veterinary team who found Gizmo have now rescued a red and white mare, who they have named Lara, from Canons Brook in Harlow on April 14.

Lara, who is thought to be about a year old, was tied up by a chain and was so thin that every bone in her body was visible She weighs 161 kilograms - less than half the weight she should be - and was so weak that she had collapsed when the team found her.

Carolun Wyse, veterinary surgeon at Catley Cross, said she hoped Lara could follow in Gizmo’s footsteps with help from the public.

She said: “I thought I had seen the worst when Gizmo came to us in February. But now I have seen Lara, and I’m not so sure anymore."

See Friday's Halstead Gazette for the full story.