Police horses act swiftly to surround alleged drink-driver

Officers on police horses brought an alleged drink-driver to a halt, a day into the force’s new campaign against drink- and drug-driving.

Gloucestershire Constabulary’s new equine recruit Kingsholme, his colleague Prestbury and their riders acted after a member of the public spotted the driver drinking from what looked like a can of cider, while at the wheel.

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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.

Police horses act swiftly to surround alleged drink-driver

“Two officers from the mounted unit were nearby, and they located and surrounded the vehicle on Great Western Road,” a spokesman for the force said.

“Officers from the roads policing unit also attended and conducted a breath test on the man, which came back as 64, nearly twice the legal limit.”

Footage from the incident, which happened around 4.15pm on Tuesday, has been released as part of the summer anti-drink and drug driving campaign, which launched the previous day, aiming to educate on the penalties that drivers could face.

Inspector Sarah Blake, who leads the mounted unit, said: “The vehicle was being driven in a very busy area, putting the public at risk.

“PCs Hastings and Walker used their mounted skills and worked as a team to ensure the vehicle was stopped quickly and the driver could not cause any harm to the public.

“Police Horse Kingsholm, being ridden by PC Walker, is our newest horse to the team and both him and PH Prestbury acted as instructed by their officers, helping bring the incident to a swift conclusion.”

The police spokesman said the driver was en route to hospital to “seek medical attention”, so he was not arrested at the time, and “the matter will be dealt with in due course”.

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