We did it! Maisie the abandoned and tortured Milton Keynes pony is rescued and set for new life of luxury

The little black and white mare, who has been christened Maisie, was abandoned by travellers months ago in a field at Snellshall West. She was left without food and water and was covered in oil after a sick attempt to set light to her.

Bailiffs recruited by the landowners, MKDP, put an Abandonment Notice up in the field last week giving the owner seven days to move her.

If unclaimed, and if unable to be re-homed, she would be "humanely destroyed", the notice warned.

With the RSPCA and other charities struggling to cope with the massive problem of dumped traveller horses, Maisie's future looked grim.

But the Citizen, alerted by a kind-hearted member of the public who had been feeding Maisie, stepped in at the beginning of the week and appealed for help.

Within two days we had more than 200 offers of a home for the little mare and her yet-to-be-born foal.

With the help of horse experts, we picked the best possible place - a quiet farm with acres of grazing land, cosy stables and decades of knowledge about horses from the family owners.

Maisie was collected tonight, seconds after the Abandonment Notice deadline expired.

"She will get lots of love, a good check over, some good quality food and a thorough grooming," said the rescuer, whose details are being kept secret in case of retaliation from travellers.

Maisie, who has no horse passport or vaccination record, will be in quarantine at first due to the countrywide equine flu outbreak. But eventually, if happy to do so, she will be allowed to make friends with the other resident horses on the farm.

If she is assessed to need specialist care, the Citizen has offers from horse sanctuaries willing to take her after the quarantine period.

But if Maisie is happy in her new home, she and her foal are welcome to stay there for life. say her rescuers.

Meanwhile the RSPCA has warned there are hundreds of other horses like Maisie.

A spokesman said: "Like all welfare charities, are experiencing a horse crisis with thousands being abandoned up and down the UK and our rescue centres are full to bursting with horses. We have to prioritise those animals who are most in need and experiencing suffering and abuse. This is why the Control of Horses Act 2015 was introduced, to ease the pressure on charities and let them deal with those animals who are most in need. Under this Act the horse is the responsibility of the landowner and we understand that the landowner has given reassurances in this case that every effort will be made to find Maisie a new home. We are pleased that a solution appears to have been found and hope that Maisie will find a brighter future."