text: Heartwarming photos have emerged of a man rescuing five beloved horses from the severe flooding in his rural town triggered by the worst storm in a decade in New South Wales. Steve Spowart helped the horses' owner, Sonia Sharrock, to lead the animals to safety near Dungog, in the NSW Hunter region - one of the hardest hit areas in the state - where three people died in the severe weather, four houses were washed away and the town received the most rainfall it had in 100 years. Mr Spowart, in a black wetsuit, paddled out on his surfboard to where the horses were stranded, past trees, bushes and fences submerged in the floodwater that was almost as high as his shoulders. Scroll down for video . Steve Spowart rescues five horses from flood water on April 22 near Dungog, a small town in the NSW Hunter Valley region . Mr Spowart paddled out to where the horses were stranded, with concentration etched on his face . His tough journey to save the animals was captured as he paddled past submerged trees and bushes . As he managed to get hold of a brown horse in what was once a field surrounded by a fence, the man clung to its mane to lead it to safety . 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. In one photo, a startled brown horse attempts to flee as the man is kicked backwards into the water. The man and owner Ms Sharrock, in a green jacket, then appear to try and calm the animal to coax it to come with them without any reins. A young boy with a tin motor boat waits in shallow water as they walk a chestnut and two white horses out of the flood. The brown horse reared up after becoming caught in barbed wire, splashing and throwing the man back into the storm water . 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 two women as he led two white and one chestnut horse out of the deep water towards a young boy and a boat . On Wednesday morning, the NSW Premier called on flood victims to 'hang tough' as the storm slowly moved down the south coast. 'Obviously, in the areas particularly impacted in the Hunter, Newcastle and across the Central Coast, we ask those communities to hang tough,' Mr Baird said. He said 'areas such as Dungog and Maitland, parts of the Central Coast' would be declared natural disaster zones but a state of emergency would not be announced. The community of Dungog in the Hunter region is said to be in 'shock' after three residents who died in dangerous weather conditions on Tuesday were identified as Robyn McDonald, aged about 70, Colin Webb, 79, and Brian Wilson, 72, the Newcastle Herald reported. The SES says it has had about 8000 requests for help and conducted 90 flood rescues since Monday, and about 200,000 homes and businesses remain without power. More than 260 SES crews and 600 volunteers will be out in the field on Wednesday. The barefooted man looked more relieved as he held on tightly to one horse's rein 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 in Dungog . A small smile crosses her face as she gets on to shallow ground with her animals . The white horse stands tall amidst the stormy skies in Dungog, an area that has been hit especially hard by the storm . The man carried ropes and reins on his surfboard as he made his way to the horses . As Mr Spowart walked out of the water, there was an eerie calm while the rain continued to fall .
target: Steve Spowart rescued his friend's horses stranded in deep storm water by paddling out to them on a surfboard .
  The animals were in flooded fields near Dungog, in the NSW Hunter region .
  One of the horses was caught in barbed wire and became startled as Mr Spowart tried to free it .
  Dungog is one of the areas hardest hit in the state by what's being called the storm of the century .
  Three people have died in the severe weather and four houses were washed away .