TWO ponies stolen from a field at Semley were reunited with their owner on Friday night, after thieves got cold feet and decided to abandon them.

Silas, a seven-year-old bay trotting pony, and Alice, a five-year-old chocolate-brown mare, were taken from their field behind Langford scrapyard, off the A30, during early Friday morning.

Thieves cut a gap in the barbed-wire fencing round the field and led the ponies away about 6am.

PC Mark Steele, of Tisbury Police, said: "An 11-year-old girl was woken by a noise and looked out of her bedroom window to see the back-ends of the ponies disappearing down the road.

"She didn't see anyone, but obviously someone was leading them."

Villagers later joined police in searching for the animals and, that evening, they were found abandoned on the green outside Semley Church.

Owner Catherine Swaile, of Station Road, Semley, said: "They were none the worse for their experience and I'm so delighted to have them back.

"Silas and Alice are pets and the children of my friends have many hours of fun riding them.

"I'm so relieved - I thought I'd never see them again."

Miss Swaile added: "People in the village were marvellous.

"When they heard the ponies had gone, they all gave a hand - either by looking for them or passing on the word. I think it was this, coupled with the fact that the ponies are both freeze-marked, that led to the thieves' losing their nerve and dumping them.

"I should like to say a really big thank-you to everyone who helped."

Police said they had traced a witness, who saw a couple leading the ponies along Station Road on Friday morning.

The couple are both said to be white, slim and in their early to mid-20s.

The man was quite tall and he and the woman were both wearing jeans, wellington boots and flat caps.