Grass roots policing has led to a sharp reduction in the amount of crime being committed in the city, police claimed today.

Robbery, burglary and vehicle crime in the Bradford North police division have all tumbled according to figures released today.

Robberies are down to 145 from 284 in the same period last year; burglaries are down from 2,280 to 1,635 and there were 1,590 cars reported stolen compared to 2,142 the year before.

Thefts from cars are down from 2,590 to 1,866.

Chief Supt Tim Grove, divisional commander, said his officers were very pleased with the results, but added: "We're not about to get complacent. We know there is still a lot of work to do.

"I'm very encouraged by these crime figures and also by the excellent work of our Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

"They are getting right into the heart of communities, dealing with problems at a grass roots level and they are receiving a lot of praise from the general public."

Neighbourhood Policing Teams were created to bring dedicated police officers closer to the community.

About 100 staff work on the Bradford North NPTs, with each of the three teams comprising a co-ordinator, detective sergeant, two patrol sergeants, eight PCs and DCs, eight patrol officers, 10 police community support officers and special constables.

The figures were welcomed by the MP for the area Terry Rooney who said a constant, visible police team for an area was the way forward.

He said: "It shows what can be done when the police concentrate resources and ideas."

"They have dedicated officers who are not taken away to do any other police work. People develop confidence in them and they can share information and I hope the figures will continue to go down and down."

He said residents in the area would be pleased but would still believe there was too much crime around.

"People recognise there is less around but that there is also too much. Ideally there should be no crime but that is probably too Utopian. However the trend is a very welcome one."