A FUNDRAISER has been set up to support horse owners after a "devastating" barn fire killed two horses in Rainford.
Fire crews were called to a fire on Holiday Moss Farm, off Muncaster Drive at around 4.30am on Saturday, August 20.
The "hero" farm dog, Ursa, woke up its owners with "non-stop barking" to alert them to the fire, which started in a large metal barn and spread onto parked caravans at the site.
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Despite best efforts to get the 15 stable horses to safety, two sadly perished in the blaze.
As the fire ripped through the barn, it also destroyed much of the riding equipment left inside the stables.
Jessica Broderick, who has two horses at the Holiday Moss Farm, has created an online fundraiser to support the horse owners and help buy back all of their lost items.
Once the police investigation has concluded, the funds will also go towards rebuilding the stables ahead of the winter months.
Speaking about the fire, Jessica said: "It was devastating to wake up to on Saturday, but all the horse owners came together on the yard that morning to help everyone out and move anything that was in the way out the way.
"The yard owners were absolutely unreal by getting the rest of the horses out the way to safety and putting them into other fields.
"They always have the horse's best interests at heart and we will be forever grateful for everything they have done for us as a yard."
With horse owners renting space at Holiday Moss, around 50 horses live at the Rainford stables.
Due to the time of year, most of the animals were out in the fields which prevented a worse outcome in Saturday morning's blaze.
As the police and fire investigation continues, Jessica thanked everyone for their support to the fundraiser so far.
She added: "The fundraiser is mainly to support all the people that have lost all of their items and have nothing left for the winter months ahead, but we are all pulling together as a big farm family to help everyone out.
"We will be doing anything we can to raise funds for everyone that has lost everything.
"All of the donations have been absolutely amazing and we are all so overwhelmed with the response we have had".
To donate to the horse owner's fundraiser, visit this link.
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