A team of Bradford police officers has returned from a bridge-building mission to India.

The delegation hailed its tour as a great success, paving the way for greater co-operation and closer working links between the two forces.

The mission was designed to build contacts for practical policing and also to share information in a bid to improve police services in both continents.

The Government-funded scheme saw the team attend an Indo-British conference in New Delhi, which explored issues such as forced marriage, community policing and major crime investigation.

After the two-day conference - at which the Bradford contingent were keynote speakers - they travelled to the Punjab, where they patrolled alongside their Indian counterparts before taking a guided tour of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Inspector Martin Baines, the district's senior race relations officer, said building similar links with Pakistan had proved hugely productive in day-to-day crime issues.

He added: "It was invaluable to share our own experience with our Indian colleagues and to draw on points of commonality.

"We were able to get a feel of what the expectations of some of Bradford's minority groups may be."

And he added: "It also helped to provide a three-dimensional picture of their situation, which better equips us in the everyday policing environment in Bradford."

He said: "We had the chance to make face-to-face contacts in India which, as we have seen in the past, can be a huge help when dealing with practical policing issues."