West Yorkshire's black and Asian population is 25 times more likely to be the target of racist incidents than whites, new figures have revealed.

And in Bradford, almost one in every 100 ethnic minority residents recorded a hate crime last year while the figure for the district's overall population stood at 1.5 in every thousand.

Police chiefs believe the rising figure highlights their success in encouraging more victims of hate crime to come forward, with the launch of a network of 'reporting centres' across the city.

And the study also showed a rising confidence in the force among ethnic minorities.

According to the report to be presented to West Yorkshire Police Authority, the total number of race-related incidents recorded in Bradford has leapt by more than 18 per cent over the last two years.

The document, which will go before the authority tomorrow, shows there were 688 reported incidents between April 2000 and March 2001 - compared to 580 in the previous 12 months.

In April 1999, the figure stood below 400, creating a two-year rise of 18.6 per cent.

A Bradford police spokesman said: "This could be a measure of the success of the reporting centres in encouraging people to record these incidents."

The centres were set up by the Bradford Alliance Against Racial Harassment and operate from community centres across the city. They are intended as an alternative for victims who may not be happy going to their local police station.

But Fazal Hussain MBE, a leading figure in Bradford's Asian community, said: "I agree that it is good that more people from the ethnic minorities are coming forward and reporting race hate crimes.

"But the police need more community involvement to stop these incidents happening in the first place."

The survey also showed that, countywide, public confidence of ethnic minorities in the police had risen. In 1999/2000, 69.2 per cent of minorities believed the police were 'approachable', compared to 79.6 per cent this year.

And when it came to their perception of the police doing 'a good' job the percentage rose from 67 to 68.3.