Royal Marines and firefighters who carried out the 'daring' rescue of a pony from cliffs at Rame Head last year have been honoured by the RSPCA.

Five marines and three members of the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service were presented with gallantry medals at a ceremony in London for saving the pony which had tumbled 80ft down a cliff in February last year.

Rope rescue teams and two Royal Marine crafts swung into action when the wild Dartmoor pony was spotted on a precarious ledge on the cliff, 30ft above a rocky cove which was only accessible by boat.

RSPCA inspector Alan Barnes and two members of Cornwall Fire and Rescue's road rescue crew made their way down the cliff to the pony and slowly coaxed it along a steep slope of loose rock down to the beach.

Five members of 539 Assault Squadron Royal Marines, based at Turnchapel in Plymouth, scrambled a landing craft and a fast boat, collected a vet and veterinary nurse from a nearby cove and dropped them on the beach to sedate the pony.

The fast boat then picked up six firefighters and an inflatable rescue path and dropped them at the beach. The path was inflated and the pony was carried and floated across the choppy sea in a makeshift stretcher onto the landing craft. The pony and all the rescue workers were taken from the beach by boat to an adjoining cove.

Miraculously the pony, which was part of a clifftop grazing project, was none the worse for her adventure and was taken to a nearby stables where she drank a large bucket of water and tucked into some hay. She was nicknamed Marine-a in honour of her rescuers and was later reunited with her herd.

The RSPCA's Bronze Gallantry Award for considerable displays of courage, skill and tenacity in the rescue of an animal, was presented to Cpl Chris Westbury and marines Henry Mitchell, David Willers, Steven McNicholas and Chris Mahomet of the 539 Assault Squadron Royal Marines and to Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service's specialist line rescue team from Bodmin led by crew manager Phil Hoare, Guy Herrington manager of Truro Fire Station and Martin Wingrove, group manager of Cornwall Fire and Rescue service.

Also recognised with a Certificate of Merit for their role in the rescue were RSPCA inspectors Paul Kempson, Alan Barnes, Jon Phipps, Jo Pearson, David Hobbs, Beccy Wadey and Animal Collection Officer Peter Ferris, Torpoint Coastguard Nigel Bunker who helped with communications, and vet Sam Pawson and vet nurse Georgina Parker from Clifton Villa Vets in Truro.