Ilkley'S town centre traders have enjoyed a virtually crime-free Christmas thanks to a new radio-link shop security system.

Members of the recently formed Ilkley Business Watch this week hailed the scheme, which was only introduced a month ago and has already led to several arrests, as a big success.

Around 20 representatives from local companies praised the effectiveness of the radio link, which lets shops warn each other about anything suspicious, at the group's first meeting of 2003.

Ilkley Business Watch chairman Philip Atkinson, of Eric Spencer Menswear, also commended Ilkley Police for playing a "very active and very helpful" role.

He said: "The general mood at the meeting was very good because the radio link up seems to have worked and sent out an important message to anyone who was thinking of stealing from shops in Ilkley.

"There have been a number of arrests already as a direct result of the scheme so it has been a success straight-off. And many of the people who have invested in the radio equipment have recouped the money, through not having goods stolen, in the first month.

"There is a lot of activity over the radio and all the traders are alerted in good time if there is a suspicious character in town, they know who to look out for before they even come in the door.

"These people will soon know that Ilkley's not a good town to target and will go somewhere else. We are taking more pro-active steps to increase the deterrent effect and stickers will be going up in the shops, and signs on town centre lampposts, to say this is a Business Watch area.

"The majority of traders are now in Business Watch and hopefully our early success will encourage even more to get on board.

"At future meetings we'll be looking at ways to refine and improve it and to make sure the momentum doesn't fizzle out, but this is a scheme which pretty much looks after itself."

The success in tackling crime over the festive period represents a significant turnaround for the police, which came in for widespread flak last year after a spate of town centre burglaries.

The Business Watch scheme, modelled on the successful Neighbourhood Watch projects in residential areas which rely on people looking out for each other, was suggested as a possible way forward.

Ilkley Sergeant Esther Hobbs said she was delighted with its early progress. She said: "This was a very positive meeting. The main thing to come out of it was that people said the number of shoplifters coming in to Ilkley had been reduced quite markedly, particularly over the Christmas period.

"So it is really good news. We managed to get the radio link up much quicker than we could have hoped for, in the month before Christmas, and it has led to several arrests and to returning some bags of property to shops.

"We have also deterred other shoplifters and I'm pretty sure they won't come back, because these are people who have been coming in from places like Leeds or Bradford, where they are known, and enjoying some kind of anonymity here.

"Now all of a sudden the police know about them and are catching them out. We also have plenty of more plans in the pipeline, which we'll be announcing soon, to take the scheme forward and make sure it keeps up the good work."