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Video: Leeds joy at horse reunion
It was like a secret mission straight out of a British spy novel as Brian the impounded pony was finally handed over.
A series of anonymous tip offs and a last minute change of location all added to the drama as the Welsh mountain pony was dropped on a residential side street outside his owners' home in Wortley.
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A large motorised horsebox capable of carrying 10 horses drew stares as it pulled up among the back-to-back houses on Cow Close Road shortly before 4pm on Tuesday.
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Sharon and Joe Forsyth were at the ready with hay, feed and Brian's favourite mints, but just like the clandestine operation that saw the pony seized from Wortley Beck last month, they were kept guessing until the very last.
A letter sent to the Forsyths by special delivery last week had outlined a plan to return the pony outside a Leeds police station.
Then on Monday the pair received an unexpected call from West Yorkshire Police to say the plan was off, with more details to be revealed by PPS – the secretive impounders that has been holding Brian on behalf of Leeds City Council.
Within an hour of hanging up, a man called from a witheld number to say that Brian would now be delivered the next afternoon close to the family's home.
He said they were to expect another call at 3pm the following day with exact details.
At 3.02pm Mr and Mrs Forsyth were stood waiting in the rain when the same man rang to say that the driver had just left the motorway and their treasured pony was just 10 minutes away.
As if on cue a marked police van quietly drew up and watched from a distance.
Twenty minutes passed, and in another anonymous phone call it was explained a wrong turn meant that the load was now running late.
Finally at 3.40pm the trailer came to a halt opposite the family house.
There were tears and laughter from Mrs Forsyth, who stormed the horsebox in a flood of emotion to see for herself that this was really
him.
Then there was anger and concern over the pony's loss of weight, poor skin condition and bald patches that had appeared on his nose.
Brian has temporarily been moved to a stable while his owners look for a smallholding for him.
Mrs Forsyth is convinced she would never have seen Brian again without the campaign for answers led by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
She said: "I am so happy. We never thought we'd see him again.
"But he looks so old. He really looks his age. To say that he has been kept well, is a lie."
Her main issue is that even today no-one will tell her where he has been.
All the local authority will say is that PPS contractors followed procedure and that Brian was being kept without permission on public land.
The impounders simply outline the process and do not consider individual cases.
They demanded 1,275 for the return of Brian back in June.
But the letter, which said the firm would not accept late payment, arrived after the deadline.
Even when Leeds City Council finally confirmed to the YEP that Brian was alive and well, PPS wrote to the family to confirm that Brian had been disposed of.
PPS has no email address, website or public telephone number.
Mr Forsyth said: "Even MI5 and MI6 have a website."
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
