Police have defended a decision to launch a crackdown on litterbugs in Bradford after it was revealed they handed out just six on-the-spot fines in a fortnight.

More than 30 officers hit the streets armed with £50 fixed-penalty notices to issue to anyone seen dropping litter in the city centre. The patrols have only handed out six fines but Inspector Steve Baker of Bradford South Police has hailed the two-week blitz as a major success.

Operation Grimebusters inv-olved PCs, community police support officers, Bradford Coun-cil street wardens and its litter- enforcement team joining forces to form city centre patrols.

During the last 14 days six on-the-spot fines were handed out and 52 people were given verbal warnings for dropping litter.

Insp Baker said the extra police presence had acted as a deterrent against litter dropping and led to a fall in crime and more arrests.

In the last two weeks there was a 25 per cent drop in crime compared with the same period last year as the number of incidents fell from 185 to 141. Operation Grimebusters patrols also made 24 arrests for offences including shoplifting, possession of cannabis, and people wanted on outstanding warrants.

Jeff Frankel, the chairman of the Bradford Retail Action Group, which represents city centre traders, said the operation had been a waste of police time. "The fact that only a handful of people have been caught dropping litter raises the question of whether the extra police and community support officers might not have been better allocated to other work rather than trying to catch people dropping litter which in the grand scheme of things is not the most serious crime in the world," he said.

But Insp Baker said: "The results speak for themselves. The extra police presence resulted in a drop in crime and street cleaners told us the amount of litter they picked up during the operation halved.

"The results have shown that Bradford is not as bad as some people think for litter."