The level of crime in Bradford's nightclubs is now far lower than in neighbouring towns and cities.

Figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that none of Bradford's venues feature among West Yorkshire's top ten most crime-plagued nightclubs.

The worst-hit clubs in Leeds, Huddersfield, Halifax, Pontefract and Batley are recording many more incidents than their counterparts in Bradford, with the city's most crime-plagued club, Livingstones, experiencing 100 fewer incidents than Oceana, in Leeds.

Police, who have put measures in place to prevent the positive trend being spoilt by over-zealous festive revellers, say the reduction in violence and other types of crime is due to strong partnership working between licensees, club managers and police across the district.

Sceptics believe the drop in crime reflects a drop in custom, claiming that fewer people are going out in Bradford at night.

Last year, Livingstones, in Bradford's West End, was named and shamed as West Yorkshire's second most crime-plagued club, but the venue has fallen to 11th in the latest league table.

The club experienced 86 incidents between December 1, 2006, and November 31, 2007, of which 21 were reported as violent and one as sexual.

Flares, in Bradford, is 15th in the list, with 66 incidents, including 12 violent and two sexual incidents, while K2, in Keighley, was placed 18th, with 48 incidents, including 13 that were reported violent.

Meanwhile, Leeds has four nightclubs in the county's top ten most crime-plagued clubs, while Halifax has two. Visage, in Huddersfield, improved from top spot last year to fourth this, while Batley Frontier went from the third worst to sixth worst.

Chief Inspector Jason Galvin, of Bradford South Police, said: "Clearly, there has been some great success over the last year in the Bradford district.

"It's hard to throw a bad name off a city, but we are trying to promote the fact that Bradford is a good place and has a night life and infrastructure for people to come and enjoy themselves.

"We hope people will come into the towns and cities in the district over Christmas and New Year, enjoy the night-life and drink responsibly."

Chief Insp Galvin said the improvement was down to a combination of factors. Keighley Police had achieved great results through the Pubwatch schemes, while Bradford North Police had struck up strong relationships with licensed premises to prevent trouble developing.

In the city centre, Operation Gridiron had a major impact in the prime entertainment area of the West End, according to Chief Insp Galvin.

He said: "It involves members of the neighbourhood policing team patrolling a designated area to provide a visible presence. They speak to revellers early in the evening and set a standard of behaviour and understanding."

The link between police and the managers or door staff at nightclubs had also been strengthened.

A Nightwatch meeting had taken place recently to discuss potential problems over Christmas and New Year and to promote responsible drinking, in line with the Government's Responsible Alcohol Sales Campaign.

Bill Muirhead, operations director for Brook Leisure, which runs Livingstones nightclub, said: "The most important thing is that crime in that whole area has reduced greatly thanks to police and (premises) operators in the town."

David Haigh, honorary president of Bradford Inner City Licensees Association, said: "Violence is down because all the door staff are linked up now, so if someone is being silly in one place, they won't get into the next.

"The management at clubs have been in cahoots with the police, so they have been getting their acts together."

Councillor Martin Smith, Bradford Council's executive member for safer communities, said: "These figures show that Bradford is a much safer place than it's portrayed as.

"There has been some bad publicity about Bradford in the past, but we have certainly turned the corner.

e-mail: will.kilner @bradford.newsquest.co.uk