It’s horses for causes

★ BEER-loving Patrick the Pony meets Britain’s Got Talent winner Colin Thackery for the War Horse charity.

The pub-going Shetland – who is mayor of Cocklington, Devon – has raised more £7,000 over the last five years for the purple poppy cause, which remembers animal victims of war.

★ To boost the appeal, Patrick’s owner Kirk Petrakis dressed as war hero Major Charles Herbert Mallock, who served alongside horses in the Royal Artillery up until his death in Belgium in 1917. Kirk, 45, said: “The purple poppy symbolises remembering these beautiful animals.”

■ CHARITY: Patrick with owner Kirk Petrakis at the War Horse Memorial near Ascot Racecourse