Criminals across Bradford were given a rude awakening today as police continued to strike in their biggest crime-busting offensive ever.

Fourteen persistent offenders were arrested in dawn raids in South Bradford today as part of the Operation Target initiative.

Today's raids brings the number of suspected criminals arrested during the first phase of the operation to the 300 mark across West Yorkshire.

PC Karl Floyd, a member of one of the 90 arrest teams striking at addresses across the county, said the operation was curtailing criminal activity in the city.

He said: "It's going very well - everything is going to the project plan. We're on target to make the 350 arrests we want in the first phase. The operation has disrupted normal criminal activity in the area."

The two-year initiative is the first of its kind in the country and will see van-loads of officers descend on a hit-list of districts, blitzing known offenders in early morning raids.

Before the first round of raids last week West Yorkshire's Chief Constable Graham Moore said the operation was intended to strike fear into the district's criminals.

He said: "When people talk about the fear of crime it is usually associated with the vulnerable.

"Through this two-year initiative we are going to put the fear of crime where it belongs - with the criminal."

The initiative aims to inject new energy into local crime fighting by providing enough manpower to make unprecedented numbers of arrests.

Operation co-ordinator Chief Superintendent Adam Briggs, said that the new squads making the dawn raids would be made up of officers from all aspects of police work including the drugs squad, fraud squad, and intelligence teams.

Over the coming months police have promised that hundreds of criminals will be rounded up and stolen goods, drugs and weapons seized.