Heartless intruders let loose 13 horses and foals from a field near Arundel.

Distraught Sheila Hocking, of New Road, Shoreham, whose disabled son Richard (26) and daughter Rosita (22) own the equines, has appealed for walkers and riders using the area to be alert for any sighting of the missing horses.

On Friday she said: " I believe the three missing horses, which were all large cob types, have been stolen. One of them is the mother of a six'“month'“old foal,Tee Jay, who had not been weaned. He has been constantly calling for his mother and is very distressed. If she was still in the area, she would have returned to him."

Mrs Hocking was alerted to the situation when a local farmer telephoned her on Tuesday evening at around 7pm to say he had seen some horses loose on the road, near to their field in Clay Lane, Crossbush.

"I went straight out to the field with my daughter and we found one of them, Willow, nearby. She was put back into the field but the others were gone all night. We spent the night searching with torches. We were told they had been seen in another field at the top of the hill, but when we went there, there was no sign of them," she said.

She added: "We came back at first light on Wednesday and managed to round up ten of the horses. But three are still missing. The padlock on the gate had been cut and I found it thrown on the ground. It is despicable that someone could do this to defenceless horses. They have been totally traumatised by their ordeal."