Horse helps police arrest a man on the Bristol to Bath cycle path carrying drugs

A police horse helped to reign in a man on the Bristol to Bath cycle path yesterday (Monday March 18) who was carrying cannabis.

At around 3pm Beaufort, who stands at 17.1 hands high, was out on routine pro-active patrols with his rider Tom Francis when they passed a man who smelt strongly of cannabis.

They stopped him - discovering that the 31-year-old had a large quantity cannabis in his possession.

He was quickly arrested and the drugs seized. The man has been released on police bail until a later date.

Mounted officer Tom Francis said: "Drugs can have devastating effects on our local communities and we will continue to be relentless in arresting those who bring drugs into our force area for commercial gain and personal use.

"This piece of day to day police work highlights the tremendous value of horses in policing. They do not only attend large events like Glastonbury and football matches, they regularly patrol the streets of Avon and Somerset and have previously made other arrests for offences including drink driving."