An animal charity is celebrating the healthy arrival of a foal, the first to be born on site since 2019.

Little Alpine surprised the team at Blue Cross in Burford by appearing sooner than expected, with the team overseeing her birth on the afternoon of Sunday September 15.

Mum Strawberry arrived at the charity’s rehoming centre in November 2023 from the RSPCA.

Jessica Hall, adoptions preparation lead at Blue Cross, said: “We had our suspicions Strawberry was in foal and we and the vet were monitoring her, but we weren’t sure on when she was due.

READ MORE: Live updates: Schools close and buses on diversion as flooding hits

“It was a very special experience for the staff that were present while she foaled as in the past foals have been born in the middle of the night, or in one of our foster homes.

Mum Strawberry with new arrival named Alpine - the small type of strawberry (Image: Blue Cross) “Strawberry has been on a wonderful journey during her time with us here at Burford, from being completely unhandled when she first arrived in our care, to now being a fantastic mother and letting the team handle both her and her beautiful tiny foal when necessary.”

The team named the foal Alpine after the small type of strawberry.

A Shetland pony called Muppet is also helping to provide nanny services to Strawberry and Alpine.

Ms Hall added: “We think Muppet is going to provide good social interaction for Strawberry and Alpine and will help Strawberry to feel safe having others around to look out for potential threats, as they would do in wild herds.

“Over the coming weeks we will be looking to introduce younger, more playful horses into the herd for Alpine to have play mates as she matures.”

The pair will remain in the care of the team, before going up for rehoming when they are ready to find a new home.