Lancashire Police horse named in memory of child

A police horse has been named in memory of a youngster who used to leave sweets anonymously on police cars for officers, who died after he was struck by lightning.

Lancashire Police recently recruited Fred from a home in West Yorkshire, and the gelding has now been named “Banks” in honour of Jordan Banks.

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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.

‘He touched the hearts of many’: police horse named in honour of child who died after he was struck by lightning

“You will no doubt remember a tragic incident which occurred in May, when nine-year-old Jordan was sadly killed after being struck by lightning in Blackpool,” said a force spokesman. “Our thoughts have been with Jordan’s family and friends ever since.

“At the time of his death we shared that Jordan had touched the hearts of many of our officers, by anonymously leaving sweet treats on police cars to cheer them up at the start of the pandemic.”

The spokesman said the force managed to track Jordan down and had planned to reward his kindness by inviting him to visit the mounted and dog units, but “sadly” this was never able to happen.

Temporary chief superintendent Wendy Bowers of the Lancashire Police tactical operations team said the force had now chosen to name its newest horse in Jordan’s honour, and to express the force’s gratitude to him.

“We hope this lets Jordan’s family know how much we appreciated his kindness last year,” she said.

The spokesman added that the name also follows the force’s tradition of naming horses after places across the county. Banks is a coastal village in Lancashire.

“Banks is a popular member of the mounted branch already,” he said.

“He is kind, friendly, laidback and loves getting attention from his human colleagues. He also likes the occasional mint as a treat. He is still in training but is doing brilliantly and it won’t be long before he is allocated a police officer to go on patrol with more regularly.”

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