Runaway pony Barry returned home after great escape through Swindon

Last month, posts popped up all over social media that a 'small horse' or 'pony' was on the loose in various areas of Swindon. 

The pony, Barry, owned by Oceana Jenkins and Angelina Evans, had been seen running in the road in front of a bus, had a meeting with police officers and ended up safe inside someone's house and garden until he could be reunited with her. 

Barry with police officers midway through his overnight escape (Image: Lucy Clements/Swindon Community Notice Board) At 1am on June 26, Barry was spotted on the path of the bridge in Stratton near Stratton Crematorium, not chained up and unaccompanied. The police were called. 

Shortly afterwards, a car followed Barry from Stanton to Stratton, where member of the public Lucy Clements, had secured Barry and kept him in their garden until police arrived, who are understood to have escorted him back up Beechcroft Road. 

But Barry must have given the police the slip because he was then spotted by a member of the public Marius Florin at 5 am running down the road towards Kingsdown Crossroads, before peeling off to the left and watching the bus pass him. 

Around two hours after that, at 7.30am, the paper was contacted by a Sam Howe, who sent us a video of Barry in his living room and asked for help finding the owner.

His mother Sandy, wrote in a post on the Swindon Community Notice Board: "Hi everyone, my son Sam has a small pony in his back garden, when he came home late last night it was trotting down Ermin Street, so he has secured him in his back garden."

At around the same time, Angelina and Oceana put their callout on the same Facebook page for help finding their pony, they said: "Hello our pony Barry has gone missing again. I have seen that someone has him could you please get in contact with me or My sister Oceanna Jenkins."

Barry the pony in Sam Howe's back garden (Image: Sam Howe) Later that day, Barry was safely returned home with his owners thanking the public for their help.

"Thank you everyone and thank you Sandy Howe and your son for keeping him safe," they said.

This adventurous night through Swindon was not the first time that Barry had gotten loose from where he was being kept in a field near Stanton Park, but after he was safely returned home for the second time, his owners revealed that someone kept deliberately letting him out.