The four Essex Police horses were yesterday settling in with their new owners.

Clouseau, Cormack, Courage and Chichester have now given up a life of fighting crime after the police mounted section, based at Southend, was forced by budget cuts to close.

Cormack and Courage have been bought by their police partners PC Kirste Snellgrove and PC Ian Jefferies.

The famous greys, Clouseau and Chichester have gone to stables in Essex.

Essex Police divisional commander of operations Supt Ian Cotgrove said: "We are satisfied all the horses have all gone to nice places.

"We checked where they would be kept before they were sold and they have all gone to good stables."

PCs Jefferies and Snellgrove decided to buy their mounts when the sell-off was first announced.

PC Jefferies, who was in the mounted section for four years, has horses of his own at home. PC Snellgrove learned all her horsemanship skills with the force.

The mounted section had to be disbanded after Essex Police decided it had to make sweeping budget cuts totalling £7 million.

It marked the end of an era for the animals who were always seen to be the friendly face of the police.

Essex Police formed its first mounted section in 1903. Many cavalry regiments were stationed in Essex at the time and some of the soldiers were recruited into the police because of their specialist horsemanship skills.

There were four stables at Southend police station in Victoria Avenue. The horses, which were all highly trained, covered a variety of work, including crowd control at football matches and public events.

They were also used to hunt for missing people, went on undercover work in woodlands and rural areas and were even to be seen trotting around Lakeside shopping centre's car park with their riders on the lookout for vehicle crime.

Out to grass - Courage

Picture: MAXINE CLARKE

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