Woman fundraising to bring police horse home
The former owner of a horse that was sold to a police force has started a fundraising appeal to bring him home.
Gloucestershire Police's mounted unit is being axed as part of £12m worth of savings, with four of the six horses being retired and another being sold to West Midlands Police.
Melissa Bailey has been told she has to pay £4,000 by Friday to buy Prince back, or he could also be transferred.
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police said: "The welfare of all our horses is, and always has been, important to us and we continue to have their interests in mind while we transfer them."
Ms Bailey sold Prince to the police in 2023 when she moved to Spain with her family, but said it was on the condition that at the end of his career with Gloucestershire Police he would be returned to her.
More news stories for Gloucestershire
Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire
The force said that all six of their horses had been examined by an independent vet who assessed their health and suitability to be operational police horses.
On the vet's advice, four of the horses have since been retired, while two of the horses – Bruce and Prince – were deemed suitable to be transferred to another police force.
Ms Bailey said she instructed lawyers after being told she would not be getting Prince back.
The following day, she said she received a phone call from Donna Lawton, the assistant chief constable.
"We were chuffed to pieces, she said Prince could come home which was the most incredible news that we'd had," she said.
Ms Bailey said she was then given a number of stipulations, including that her family would have to pay for Prince's travel to Spain and get him off the police yard within the week.
Ms Bailey has already paid £3,000 for Prince to be transported home to her, but said she has until Friday to raise £4,000 to buy Prince from the force, claiming it retracted its agreement to a staged payment.
Her family have now set up a GoFundMe page to try to raise the money.
"Frustrating is definitely one word, absolutely devastating is another," Ms Bailey said, adding the time constraints are "confusing".
"If they believe that it is in the best interest of Prince to come home, why are they making us jump through these hoops?"
A Gloucestershire Police spokesperson said: "Prince's previous owner has expressed interest in the horse returning to her in Spain and we have informed her we will be willing to sell the horse back to her for £4,000.
"Police officers are currently caring for the five remaining horses – these officers could otherwise be deployed among our communities and so we have asked the previous owner to confirm the sale by 20 June.
"Unfortunately we're unable to extend credit to members of the public and so are unable to accept payment in instalments.
"Should Prince's previous owner not be able to take up the option to buy him back we will explore options for him to join Bruce."
Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
Concern for police horses as unit set to close
Police force to cut 60 jobs in bid to save £12.3m
Gloucestershire Police
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Calling someone a Karen is 'borderline racist, sexist and ageist'
Calling someone a 'Karen' could be 'borderline racist, sexist and ageist', a tribunal has ruled. An employment tribunal judge has deemed the term which is generally targeted at middle-aged white women to be "pejorative". This ruling came about after the slang term was used in a tribunal taking place at Watford Employment Tribunal. READ MORE: Glastonbury fans say festival is 'robbing them' after seeing price of pints this year READ MORE: Warning as 'tens of millions' of ants set to swarm UK on Flying Ant Day 2025 Sylvia Constance, 74, brought claims forward of unfair dismissal, direct race and age discrimination and victimisation at Watford Employment Tribunal against Harpenden Mencap, a charity which provides support to adults with learning disabilities. Ms Constance, who the tribunal heard is black British, said that she had been targeted because of her race after she had been dismissed from her role on June 13 2023 because of an 'irrevocable breakdown in the relationship' with Mencap. The dismissal came after bosses had previously suspended Ms Constance over claims of "emotional/psychological abuse of a tenant in your care" and "bullying and intimidation of colleagues", the tribunal heard. The use of the slang term 'Karen' arose when Christine Yates, who represented Ms Constance at the tribunal, used the term in a document. The document read: "The respondents have acted like the stereotypical 'Karen' having weaponised their privilege and more powerful position against the complainant, making up and suspending the complainant for numerous fictitious infringements, and deflecting from their personal misconduct. "As egregiously, they encouraged residents under their care to do same. There is also something very sordid about the way in which white, female management have facilitated racism by colluding with white, male residents to give a misogynistic, racist view of the black complainant." But employment judge George Alliott noted the term 'Karen' to be "pejorative". Employment judge George Alliott said: "We note Christine Yates uses the slang term 'Karen', which is a pejorative and borderline racist, sexist and ageist term." The judge did not uphold Ms Constance's claims, saying that the complaints against Ms Constance were "legitimate" and " did not constitute a targeted racist campaign against her."
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Irish rap group Kneecap set to play at Glastonbury despite criticism from politicians
PILTON, England — Irish-language rap group Kneecap is set to perform Saturday at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the Terrorism Act with support a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November. He is on unconditional bail ahead of a further court hearing in August.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
The story every mum and dad needs to hear as kids groomed and blackmailed on social media
Children across Birmingham are being groomed and exploited into gangs through social media. It's a frightening truth, but it's the reality here in 2025. Youths are approached online with offers of high-end trainers or 'fast cash', in return for running drugs or driving a car on behalf of a gang. Once they're involved in that lifestyle, they find themselves carrying knives, machetes and even guns. Whether its unfiltered videos of stabbings or gangs being glamourized in music videos, children are all being exposed to the same content on social media. Read more: Birmingham Children's Hospital offers 'harsh truth' as staff fight to save teenage stab victims We explored the dangers of social media influence on children as part of our Deep Cuts project - a three month investigation into the root causes and societal issues behind knife crime. As part of our five key asks, we're urging all parents to make sure parental controls are applied to their child's phone. Birmingham's gang police spoke of the cruel tactics used to groom kids online while an ex-gang member told us how social media posts can instigate violence in the real world. We also sought advice from NSPCC, who shared the grooming signs every parent should look out for in their teenagers. "There's predators that prey on kids that are just given an iPad, or given a phone and parents say 'here you go, leave me alone,'" Sgt Varley, of Operation Guardian, told us. "They're in their room and it's like kicking them outside and leaving them to fend for themselves - that's the equivalent of it, being a kid on social media, because they don't know what's right and what's wrong. 'They film them performing a sexual act and it will be posted on Snapchat or Instagram if you don't do this.' They are basically like prisoners." Worryingly, the online world also creates a platform where confrontations - which would otherwise stop at school - can escalate 24/7. One ex-gang member, who carried a knife and was involved in a street robbery, told BirminghamLive: "If social media wasn't around, a lot of things that happened to me wouldn't have happened. "Certain arguments that happen should not have gone that far. If group chat wasn't made to carry it on and certain posts weren't made to aggravate people, make people angry and embarrass people. "Social media is just that thing that puts the cherry on top for everything and just instigate so many things, that don't need to be instigated." His story is one of fear and hope - and one every parent should read. Though he grew up in Longbridge, he found himself influenced by excluded kids sent to his school. Mixing with gang-affiliated youths from Handsworth, he was slowly and gradually gripped into a life of crime. In his own words, he spoke of the changes As well as a youth worker, Ken is a 'peer researcher' currently exploring the link between social media and violence. "Lots of people are the same and they're having the same crisis because one of the top things is social media," he added. "Everyone is seeing the same content, everyone is seeing the same music. So everyone is listening and taking in the same information. "Everyone is naturally just talking the same, having the same mentality, having the same Issues, let's say because they're taken in the same things." As part of Deep Cuts, we also asked the NSPCC for their important advice on protecting children from grooming and exploitation. We were directed to view the signs parents should look out for in their kids - but also warned these could be masked as "normal teenage behaviour." A spokesman for the NSPCC told us: 'To determine whether a child is being exploited or groomed isn't easy as the signs can be subtle or even hidden. Older children may display what appears to be "normal" teenage behaviour that can otherwise mask more serious underlying problems. 'Children and young people can be groomed by a stranger or someone they know. This can happen either online, in person or both. When a child is groomed online, perpetrators may hide who they are by sending photos or videos of other people. They might target one child online or contact lots of children very quickly and wait for them to respond. 'Groomers will exploit any vulnerability they can to increase the likelihood of a child or young person becoming dependent on them and less likely to speak out. What is more, children may not realise that they are being been groomed. They may have complicated feelings of loyalty, admiration, love, as well as fear, distress and confusion. 'Potential signs of grooming may include whether a child is being very secretive about how and where they're spending their time. They may have an older boyfriend or girlfriend, unexplained amounts of money or new things given to them like clothes and mobile phones. They may also display sexualised behaviour that's not appropriate for their age. 'The impact of grooming can have a lasting impact on victims. It is important that parents speak to their children and address the consequences of violent or illegal behaviour. If parents or carers are concerned about the safety of a child, they should reach out to police or other agencies. There is also the NSPCC Helpline, where adults can receive free advice and information by calling 0808 800 5000 or emailing help@ Meta, which runs WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, highlighted that they had launched Teen Accounts - which "at least 54 million teens around the world" had been moved into. "This means that they now have enhanced protections, like automatically being placed into private accounts and the strictest setting of our Sensitive Content Control, limits on notifications over night and reminders to leave the app after 60 minutes, and they can only be messaged by people they follow or are already connected to," said a spokesperson for Meta.
