A PILOT scheme to allow members of the public to inspect premises where police dogs and horses are housed is to be introduced by Lancashire Police Authority this week.

Under the Animal Welfare Lay Visitors Scheme people will be invited to the force's Hutton headquarters to observe and report on the conditions under which the animals are housed, trained and transported.

People already chosen from the force's lay visitors list will be allowed to arrive unannounced at police stations and mounted sections to check the way police dog handlers and officers on horseback carry out their responsibilities with regard to the welfare of the animals in their care.

The new scheme follows the death last year of an Essex police dog while in police authority care and the subsequent prosecution of police officers for cruelty.

Lancashire Police Authority are one of the first in the country to introduce the new inspection initiative for all their 78 trained police dogs and for around a dozen dogs currently on the force's assessment programme.

Initially the scheme will be piloted for six months and introduced on a permanent footing next year if it proves to be a success.

Sergeant John Dean said: "Any scheme that allies any fears that members of the public may have has got to be a good thing.

"However Lancashire Police Authority already has a very good open scheme in place and we will always consider requests from members of the public who wish to see the police dog training unit."

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