MOUNTIES RETURN

POLICE HORSES TO MAKE A COMEBACK IN BIRMINGHAM AFTER 25 YEARS

- ALEXANDER BROCK Local Democracy Reporter

MOUNTED police are set to be based in Birmingham for the first time in more than 25 years.

West Midlands Police said the horse team - which was disbanded in 1999 - could play a key role in fighting crime in city centres and residential neighbourhoods.

Mounted officers have been commonly used in the region in recent years at events like football matches.

But the West Midlands force has had to rely on teams of horses and their riders from elsewhere for these events, after its own mounted unit was axed by then chief constable Sir Edward Crew.

West Midlands Police has applied for council permission for a stable block at the Tally Ho Training Centre in Pershore Road, Edgbaston.

If approved, the force said in response to a Freedom of Information Act request that the mounted unit could be operational by the end of this summer.