The city’s much-loved working Horses could be the latest casualty of budget cuts at Bradford Council.

The horses, named Murdoch and Darcy, are stabled at the Bradford Industrial Museum in Eccleshill, and are a star attraction for visitors.

But cost-saving measures have hit the museum service and could see the animals put out to pasture.

Staff are understood to have been given eight weeks to show public support for the duo and a Facebook page has been set up to try to save Murdoch and Darcy.

The Clydesdales regularly pull visitors to the museum around in a wagon and can often be seen in the summer pulling a tank to water haning baskets in the city centre.

Since the Horses at Work staff were made aware of the plans late last week astonished visitors have contacted the Telegraph & Argus to offer their support.

Jim Lawton said: “I am sure many of your readers will have visited the museum or met the horses out on the streets of Bradford, and will want to encourage the Council and museum service to keep Horses at Work alive. This is a very unusual exhibit. Surely it is one of which the city should be proud?

“Swimming pools can be reopened, managers can be rehired, but some things, once lost, can never ever be replaced.”

Tony Stephens, assistant director cultural and tourism, said: “We have just started a consultation process over a proposal to find a new home for the two working horses at the Industrial Museum.

“As part of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review we have had to make £48 million savings across all council services which has led to making difficult decisions.

“Stabling and taking care of horses is expensive and finding somewhere else for the horses would save £126,000.

“This proposal would not mean that horses would disappear altogether from the Industrial Museum. We would still like to invite horses in for any special events we organise as we still host displays and collections which are very much centred around horses.”

One of the horses, Murdoch, was named by readers of the Telegraph & Argus in 2005.

In 1999 the paper ran a successful Save Our Shires campaign to keep the horses on after the Council wanted to withdraw a contract that saw the horses helping to keep the streets clean.

  • Read the full story in Tuesday's T&A