RSPCA officers in Somerset face an equine crisis, according to figures from the animal welfare charity.

They received 297 complaints about 233 horses last year and rescued 34 horses countywide.

Officers are called out daily to abandoned horses up and down the country, with many sick, dead or dying.

The RSPCA’s 2017 figures show: •Its emergency line received more than 80 calls a day about horses; •It took 980 horses into its care and currently has 928 in its care; •The RSPCA secured 25 per cent more convictions for equine offences than two years ago; •It costs more than £3 million a year to care for the horses, excluding vets' costs.

Among the horrific cases dealt with last year in Somerset was Boycie, whose owner was banned from keeping equines for 15 years after RSPCA inspectors rescued him after he was found with thousands of maggots in a gash on his leg after he became tangled in electric fencing without help.

Inspector Marie Griffiths said: "Boycie was left to suffer, tangled up and unable to escape, for days.

"He was so badly injured he could no longer put his foot on the ground. The leg that was trapped smelt like rotting flesh and was filled with maggots.

"I honestly didn’t think he would recover from the injury but he has bounced back and is now running in the field."

Another case saw a Somerset man banned from owning horses for five years after admitting failing to provide them with adequate care.

The RSPCA rescued two horses left to fly-graze on unsuitable land littered with serious hazards.

One of them was discovered with a fencing panel attached to an ill-fitting head collar by long ropes. The terrified horse was exhausted from continually pulling the fencing panel around the field.

Both horses had worms and liver damage but have since made a full recovery and been re-homed.

And a 39-year-old man from Somerset was banned from owning horses for life after two severely malnourished and emaciated horses were discovered alongside a six-week-old foal after being left to starve.

He was convicted of three counts of cruelty towards horses in his care, one of which died.

The RSPCA’s inspectorate national equine co-ordinator Christine McNeil said: "We’ve been talking about the horse crisis for several years now, but the truth is the situation is just as severe today as when it started.

"Last year we took in more horses than we have in the past four years, and with our inspectors being called to rescue more and more every week, we're stretched to the limits."