Police have reassured the people of West Yorkshire that the force is not axing its police horse division after an April Fool’s Day tweet.
West Yorkshire Police Horses official Twitter feed posted online yesterday morning to say budget cutbacks were causing the department to close. It said: “Due to cutbacks and several officers leaving, the mounted section is unsustainable and will close down. A very sad day.”
The tweet received several responses, with some expressing concern at the news, but others questioning if it were an April Fool joke.
It was swiftly removed, and replaced with a message saying they were “here to stay”.
The force is looking into how the tweet found its way to the official feed.
Chief Superintendent Barry South, of the Protective Services Operations, said: “We are making inquiries as to how this has been placed on the site, but we can categorically state that the mounted section will continue to deliver a specialist service to the public in West Yorkshire.”
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