text: 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 .
target: 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 couldn'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 six hours 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 .