POLICE horses will be a thing of the past on Teesside’s streets after Cleveland Police announced it was going to axe its mounted section.

Chief Constable Jacqui Cheer said the move would save the force £88,000 a year but said it was one of the hardest decisions she had had to make since starting in her role.

The mounted section includes five horses, two police staff, one Sergeant and six Police Constables and costs £521,000 each year.

The two civilian staff will be made redundant and the officers will be redeployed.

Mrs Cheer said: “I want to make it clear that this is in no way a reflection on the section itself. The police staff, police officers and horses have served the Cleveland Force with the utmost professionalism and commitment, and I am saddened to have to make this decision.

“All aspects of the organisation are under scrutiny, and we need to ensure that every service we provide is as efficient as possible and meets our policing priorities.

“Everyone will also be aware of the financial cuts that we have to make and the police officers we have had to lose to make those savings.

“The move will make an annual saving of approximately £88,000. The police officers will be moved to other frontline duties, two police staff posts will be lost and the equipment such as the horsebox will be sold.”

She said if horses are needed for events in the future they would be brought in from other forces at a “small cost”, or other policing tactics would be used to help with crowd control at large events.