Police horses will be back on the streets of Sussex next month after an absence of 20 years.

Three geldings, on loan from Avon and Somerset Police, will be patrolling the streets of Brighton and Hove for a two-week trial starting on June 11.

We exclusively revealed in January how horses are wanted to raise the profile of police, to combat crime and act as a deterrent.

The three geldings will be stabled locally and ridden by Avon and Somerset mounted officers, touring parks, the seafront, and on one night, patrolling West Street, Brighton, when clubs and pubs turn out.

Avon and Somerset have had horses for 101 years and currently have 10 horses on duty.

Sergeant Andy Bishop, in charge of the Avon police horse unit, said even though Sussex and other forces had disbanded their mounted sections he believed they were due for a renaissance.

He said: "They cost about £2.50 a day to keep and I have found them extremely useful.

"Mounted officers are high profile, they act as a deterrent and my officers occasionally have galloped after and caught offenders in the streets.

"Horses are very tactile. People like to pet them and chat to the officers. They improve relations with the public and the contact sometimes provides intelligence on crimes."

The revival of police horses in Sussex has been led by Hove police.

Chief Inspector Stuart Harrison said: "The command team believes the presence of visible patrolling officers physically intervening in quality of life issues reduces crime and reassures members of the public.

"We see this as the natural development of the Hove and Shoreham Division's high visibility policing tactics, our logic being 'How much more highly visible can someone be when mounted 9ft tall on a fluorescent yellow horse, dressed in fluorescent yellow?'

"Research has consistently shown that mounted officers dissolve barriers between police and public.

"Not only are they effective in reducing crime but they actively improve police-public relationships. That sounds like a big win to me.

"During the past eight months we have reduced crime significantly on the division, and those declines in crime and disorder continue.

"This initiative demonstrates we are willing to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the city becomes a safer place."