JOEY the police horse came face to face with stage star Joey from War Horse in City Park today as the acclaimed production gets set to gallop back to Bradford for another run at the Alhambra Theatre.

The unlikely pair bonded without a hitch as the life-size equine puppet and real horse from West Yorkshire Police’s Mounted Section got to know each other and drew in a surprised crowd.

The show opens in Bradford on Valentine’s Day, four years after it played to sell-out houses on its first tour to the city. The tale of friendship, courage and loyalty is an adaptation of best-selling author Michael Morpurgo’s story about a young boy called Albert and his horse Joey, set against the backdrop of war.

Poignantly the most successful play in the National Theatre’s history, comes to Bradford coinciding with the centenary of the end of World War I.

The Bradford audiences will add to the seven million plus people worldwide who have already seen it.

It completed a record-breaking eight-year London run at the New London Theatre in 2016 and has won 25 awards including the Tony Award for Best Play on Broadway.

It takes 12 trucks to move the props and costumes from one venue to another so it won’t be a flying visit, said Matthew Forbes, who is War Horse’s Puppetry Director. He described the show as “a global phenomenon” and promised Bradford theatre-goers it would be “just as big, just as powerful” as the West End version.

Seen in 11countries so far, he said Joey, who was created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppetry Company and is mastered on stage by three puppeteers at once, has “totted up the air miles.” His handlers, who have to keep in athletic-shape, work off an average 12,000 to 15,000 calories per show.

“We are hoping for another sell-out run in Bradford. Tickets sold like hot cakes last time. Joey has met more members of royal families and heads of state than most stage stars. We know he has a huge fan base and lots of them are here in Bradford.”

War Horse comes to the Alhambra from February 14 to March 10, 2018. Tickets are on (01274) 432000 or bradford-theatres.co.uk