Leeds nostalgia: Owner saves pony from blazing barn.

Smallholding owner Shirley Woodhead saved Annabelle, a 14-year-old Dartmoor Pony, from a blazing barn on New Year's Day.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Jan 2018, 06:37 BST
Feeding time for Annabelle the Dartmoor pony who was rescued by Miss Shirley Woodhead from a barn next to a blazing barn as fire swept across a small holding at New Farnley near Leeds.Feeding time for Annabelle the Dartmoor pony who was rescued by Miss Shirley Woodhead from a barn next to a blazing barn as fire swept across a small holding at New Farnley near Leeds.
Feeding time for Annabelle the Dartmoor pony who was rescued by Miss Shirley Woodhead from a barn next to a blazing barn as fire swept across a small holding at New Farnley near Leeds.

Firefighters battled through the night to contain the fire which started just after 6pm at the bar on Green Lane, New Farnley. But it was Shirley who was first on the scene to lead Annabelle to safety.

The story graced the pages of the YEP in January 2000 - learn more about Leeds’s past here.

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She said: “I arrived home and ahead crackling sounds. I thought it was a strange time for people to set off fireworks but then I realised the noise was coming from the barn. I dashed up and saw the fire, phoned the fire brigade and then went to rescue Annabelle.”

Four fire crews tackled the blaze, which was made dangerous by the asbestos roof collapsing onto the bales of straw below. This made it difficult to extinguish the fire.

Related topics:LeedsGreen Lane