YOUNGSTERS from Saltburn have said a fond farewell to Cleveland Police's longest-serving horse.

Endeavour has been with the force for 15 years and will be sadly missed by his rider, Ian Lumley. He said: "He is one of the most experienced and mild-mannered horses on the unit. He was just as comfortable at maintaining crowd control as meeting young children on school visits."

Instead of pounding the beat in Middlesbrough town centre on weekend evenings, or ensuring crowd safety at premiership matches, Endeavour will be spending his retirement grazing on a 20-acre farm in South Wales, his stay organised by the International League for the Protection of Horses.

Inspector Ross Sibley, head of the mounted section, said: "The horses are an integral part of proactive policing. They provide high visibility patrols and are a huge deterrent to the would-be criminal."

Six children who visited Endeavour at his Ormesby stables yesterday were the winners of a crime prevention poster competition at the school, organised by PC Stuart Smith, of Saltburn.

Cleveland Police are trying out a new recruit to see if he is up to the job, to bring the force's team of horses back to nine.