Horse Trader

A pensioner has called for the mounted section of Lothian and Borders Police to be saved from closure. Tom Bisset, 83, who served in the mounted section for 20 years, said that he was “absolutely shattered” to hear that it is due for closure after 130 years. The unit will be closed in order to save £52,000 a year.

Its horses will be transferred to Strathclyde Police in the mounted section, which is based at Ayrshire farm. They will only return to Lothian for specific duties and the officers will be deployed elsewhere. Mr Bisset, who retired from the mounted section in 1980, has urged force chiefs to reconsider. He said: “The people of Edinburgh deserve it. “I was absolutely shattered when I found out.

There’s been mounted police in Edinburgh for 130 years and people in Edinburgh enjoy seeing the horses parading on the streets and also doing their beat work.” Mr Bisset, who trained 20 horses during his time in the force, lives in Craigentinny and was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1979.

Speaking about his role as sergeant for the last 12 years of his service, he said: “When I was sergeant, I was in charge of the horses and the patrols that the men did throughout the city. “The mounted lads in Edinburgh did the grooming, mucking out and feeding the horses themselves, which was a good way of getting a good relationship with the horses.

“We did patrols throughout the city and then we had many parades, state visits and Queen visits, plus football matches and rugby matches. The Queen used to come to the opening of the Assembly and various things like that. “When the Household Cavalry came to Edinburgh, we had to escort them up to Redford Barracks.”

Police are hoping that the changes will help to meet a tight budget. As well as saving the £52,000 a year that is spent on food and equipment for providing care for the horses, the force will no longer need to pay the cost of a replacement horse carrier. “The best method of cutting costs would be to reduce the Glasgow mounted section by six horses, thereby leaving Edinburgh with a section. By this means, at no extra travelling costs, Edinburgh mounted section would always be available,” Mr Bisset said. “It was always a close-knit section and once you went in, you stayed in, because you loved doing what you were doing – working with horses.

If I had my life to live over again, I would do the same again.”