The owner of five horses rescued from rising flood waters during this week ’ s storm of a decade in New South Wales has revealed the amazing lengths her brother-in-law went to over six terrifying hours to save her horses . Steve Spowart dived down into the freezing cold water to cut the barbed wire and free the horses that had become tangled in fences amidst the floods . The animals ’ owner , Sonia Sharrock , praised her ‘ absolutely amazing ’ brother-in-law , for his incredible feat , saying ‘ I don ’ t know what I would have done without him and my sister ’ . ‘ Steve was cutting the wire , he had to dive right down into the deep water to cut it . It was really difficult and absolutely freezing , ’ Ms Sharrock told Daily Mail Australia . Ms Sharrock watched in horror as her stud farm in Woodberry , in Maitland in the Hunter Region of New South Wales - one of the worst affected areas by the storm – rapidly flooded . Scroll down for video . Stud farm owner Sonia Sharrock ( right ) looked relieved as she managed to save her horses from the NSW floods thanks to help from her brother-in-law Steve Spowart ( left ) and his surfboard . Steve Spowart paddled out to where the horses were stranded , with concentration etched on his face , before diving down into the freezing water to cut the barbed wire they were trapped in . The brown horse reared up after becoming caught in barbed wire , splashing and throwing Steve back into the storm water . On Tuesday morning the horses were just ankle deep in water ‘ but by 1pm it was up to their chest , ’ Ms Sharrock said . ‘ I was really stressed out and panicking that the water was coming up really fast and I was worried we were going to get caught up , ’ she said . In the incredible photos taken of the recue , Mr Spowart – a keen surfer – is seen paddling out into the deep storm water on his surfboard to free the horses . The moving images show the concentration on his face as he moves towards the animals and his concern as he struggles to lead them out of the deep murky water . Steve Spowart spent five hours helping to rescue the horses from the farm in Maitland , NSW . His tough journey to save the animals was captured as he paddled past submerged trees and bushes . In one photo , a startled brown horse attempts to flee as Mr Spowart is kicked backwards into the water . Ms Sharrock , in a green jacket , is seen trying to calm the animal to coax it to follow them without any head collars or leads . ‘ The brown horse was my neighbours and he had got caught in barbed wire as he was trying to swim down to get to my horses , ’ Ms Sharrock explained . Her horses live just 500m from her house , which is located on a hill , but it took six hours to bring them - and a cow - up to safety in her garden . ‘ The surfboard was his idea ; he wanted to do that to get in . The problem was the water covered the fences and the horses couldn ’ t see it so we had to cut them all back to get them out , ’ Ms Sharrock said . The brown horse stood off against the two rescuers , Sonia Sharrock and Mr Spowart , in fear of the terrifying floods . The man was helped by Ms Sharrock and her sister as he led two white and one chestnut horse out of the deep water . Barefooted , Steve looked more relieved as he held on tightly to one horse 's lead after emerging from the water . Ms Sharrock , in a green coat , talks to a chestnut horse as it follows her to safety out of the storm water . Unlike Mr Spowart who was wearing a wetsuit , Ms Sharrock was a little less prepared and had just ankle length gum boots on her feet after suffering blisters from her full length boots the day before . ‘ We didn ’ t realise it was going to be as big as it was , it took us by surprise . Normally the horses go on the mound and they are fine but this time we realised we ’ ve got to move them again , ’ she added . The flood water is now finally receding but it will be a few weeks before the horses can return to the fields . ‘ It ’ s turned into a big mud pit , ’ Ms Sharrock explained . ‘ I ’ m really grateful to my brother-in-law and sister in helping out , I wouldn ’ t have done it without them . ‘ The local community has been brilliant too , we had a guy from a pet produce store ask if he could donate food to us . Everyone has been so good. ’ The white horse stands tall amidst the stormy skies in Maitland , an area that has been hit especially hard by the storm . 'The surfboard was his idea ; he wanted to do that to get in , ' Ms Sharrock said . The incredible moment Mr Spowart walked out of the water as the rain continued to fall during the storm was photographed .
Sonia Sharrock 's stud farm near Maitland , in the Hunter Region of New South Wales , was badly flooded . The water rose rapidly and the horses became tangled in barbed wire when the could n't see the fences . Her brother-in-law Steve Spowart decided to paddle out on his surfboard to rescue them . He plunged down into the freezing flood water to cut them free from the barbed wire . It took Tuesday morning in total to bring the horses up to the safety of Ms Sharrock 's hilltop garden . Maitland was one of the areas hardest hit in the state by what 's being called the storm of the decade .