text: Rescuers were given quite the surprise after a horse that was stuck in a muddy ditch for six hours turned out to be white when it was hosed down. Eighteen firefighters freed the Havana cob called Cody after he went for what turned out to be a lengthy dip in a bid to cool off in the warm weather. Relieved owner Tracey Hannant, from Bexleyheath, south London, said her horse looked like Black Beauty when it emerged from the ditch. Rescue: It took 18 firefighters to free white Havana cob Cody. He was trapped in a muddy ditch for six hours . Clean: How Cody looks when he hasn't been swimming in a ditch. The photo was taken after the horse's lengthy ordeal. The white Havana cob is pictured with Tyler Whimster, 13, son of his owner Tracey Hannant . She said she thought the horse had probably jumped in for a swim and praised London Fire Brigade crews who came to the rescue. 'They saved my boy's life,' she said. 'They were covered from head to toe, they stank, and they just kept doing everything they could. Cody, who is naturally white with ginger markings, found himself trapped in Anderson Way, Belvedere, for up to five or six hours last Friday. He was finally freed at 2.55pm by firefighters and the shaky horse was taken to his stables to see a vet who gave him painkillers, vitamin injections and a booster. Ms Hannant added: 'It was the most awful thing in the world. I was completely hysterical. 'If you can imagine your child stuck in there, that's what it was for me. 'He kept looking at me and there was nothing I could do.' Not a habit: Ms Hannant said it was the first time Cody had escaped from his field in six months of living there . Almost there: Cody was glad when he could finally touch down on dry land again. He was taken to his stables to see a vet who gave him painkillers, vitamin injections and a booster . Ms Hannant feared the firefighters would accidentally break Cody's leg or the 15-hand horse would panic and colic (stomach cramps), which is potentially fatal. The mum-of-three, who also has a baby grandchild, praised London Fire Brigade saying: 'They were all trying to keep him calm. 'They were talking about getting a crane at one point.' It took crews an hour-and-a-half to rescue Cody, who was lifted from the water by a device under his stomach. Ms Hannant said: 'No one could believe he was a white horse. 'When he got out he looked like Black Beauty.' It was the first time Cody escaped from his field in six months of living there. She thinks her water-loving horse broke out through a hole in the fence and jumped in for a swim, not realising he would get stuck. Horsing around: There was even talk of a crane having to be used at one point but rescuers eventually freed the Havana cob. His owner, Tracey Hannant, believed the horse had probably gone for a swim to cool off . Back at home: Cody's owner Tracey Hannant spoke of the moment he was rescued. She said: 'No one could believe he was a white horse. When he got out he looked like Black Beauty.' Her son Tyler, 13, with the horse . On dry land: Cody is enjoying being back home in his field with Tyler, who was out riding the horse again following the animal's rescue from a ditch in Anderson Way in Belvedere, south London on Friday last week . She spent all day Monday building a new electric fence to keep Cody and her other four horses safe. Ms Hannant added: 'Cody is not just a horse, I have brought him up since he was six-months-old. 'I felt so helpless. That was the worst pain I have ever known in my life.' She plans to take Cody to Erith fire station when he is fully recovered, to thank the 'amazing' firefighters in person.
target: Owner of white Havana cob Cody said her horse looked like Black Beauty .
  Tracey Hannant believes the animal wanted to go for a dip to cool down .
  It took 18 firefighters to free the horse following its six-hour ordeal .
  No one could believe it when Cody turned out to be white after hose down .