A COMMUNITY-MINDED woman has taken action to remove a dead horse from a stretch of river in Pontypool after its carcass was left for over a week.

On Sunday, February 26, a foal was discovered by local residents in a section of the Afon Lwyd river near Rockhill Road, Pontypool.

Torfaen County Borough Council were unable to remove it as the land is maintained by Pontypool Park Estate.

Due to heavy rain over the weekend, the landowner was also unable to retrieve the foal due to the “dangerous” state of the river.

On Monday, Louise Shepphard, 38, of Trevethin, worked with local garage employee Tom Parsons, to drag the carcass from the river and paid a private company £60 to dispose of it.

She said: “I tried to take the initiative so it wasn’t left there in the river, children were seeing it. It smelled really bad and I don’t know what diseases and germs were coming out and going in the river.”

Jack Hanbury, of Pontypool Park Estate, said that there were plans to remove the horse from the river but due to rain over the weekend, the river was too “dangerous” to navigate.

“The river was dangerous and that’s why it could not be retrieved at that point,” he said.

Referencing the work of Louise Shepphard, he added: “She has been very helpful and we’re grateful to her”.