THE OWNER of two horses recovered after being stolen from a field near Bournemouth Airport believes they were hours away from being shipped out of the country.

Shocked Corinna Johnson, who located her animals after a frantic two-hour search, told the Echo: “My horses got rustled, so I went and rustled them back.”

The 45-year-old believes they were taken from their field then walked along a busy road to another nearby field - so they could more easily be transported out of the area by a suitable vehicle.

Now Corinna wants to raise awareness of the crime, which - after speaking with local farmers - she believes is widespread across the region.

Corinna was rung by her teenage daughter on Saturday, around 8pm, from the field at Hurn where the family keeps two horses, Senjor and Lilly. “My daughter was hysterical, she said. “The padlocks had been cut, the gate was wide open and both horses were missing.”

Corinna and her husband, who had only recently moved the horses to the field, checked police had been called before heading to meet their distraught daughter.

“I also rang a friend and asked them to go online and ask if anyone had seen any horses being dragged around in the area.

“We quickly had so many people online helping us, then someone asked if we could get a transporter or a trailer easily to our field? When we said no, they told us to start a search of the area immediately.

“Basically, we were told the thieves may have walked the horses to another field where they could get a transporter into more easily, and we didn’t have long until they’d be taken for good.”

With this spurring them on, and after a two-hour search, the horses were located in a field barely half-a-mile away. Now they’re back home and Corinna is in the process of beefing up security, including installing CCTV.

Corinna said: “I want other people to be aware of the issue. One farmer told me this sort of crime is endemic, it happens to their animals, to their farm equipment.

“The chap in the B&B next to the field, bless him for his help, said he drove past at 7.30pm that night and the gates were closed. So my daughter just missed running into them - I shudder to think what may have happened.

“We were also contacted to say two horses were spotted being walked along the side of the airport road.

“Basically, my horses got rustled so I went and rustled them back. How often do these type of stories have a happy ending? Yes, a little miracle happened and I’d like to thank everyone who helped. But there is a wider problem that needs to be looked at here.”

Dorset Police confirmed they were called about the incident.