The door of a run-down flat swung open to reveal a cloud of smoke and two surprised young men.

One of them, a 21-year-old, was wanted in connection with a burglary and failing to pay a court fine.

He was the latest goal in West Yorkshire Police's Target Initiative, the county's biggest ever crime crackdown and mass arrest campaign.

This man and hundreds of others were selected by police researchers who had compiled a 'package' featuring his photograph, biographical details, map of his address and offence details.

"But intelligence becomes old when we've got it," said Sergeant Keith Dobson, one of the specialist Target team leaders we joined on a series of morning raids. "Sometimes we have an address then find they moved out yesterday."

The 250 officers, on the second day of a week's arrests, along with various media members, had been on the road in either Bradford or Keighley since about 7.30am after a 30 minute briefing from Target leader Chief Superintendent Adam Briggs.

The KN team had ridden in a police van in a three-vehicle convoy from Bradford Police Station to Keighley.

Our first stop was the Stockbridge home of a tearful 24-year-old burglary suspect, who was handcuffed and taken to Keighley Police Station to be interviewed by CID.

The 21-year-old burglary suspect in the smoky flat followed the same route, but not before the police searched the flat for drugs and stolen property and checked the other occupants.

A 16-year-old girl was discovered hiding in the bed, so Sgt Dobson called HQ to check her and the other man's details.

She was on bail for a number of deception-related crimes, such as theft, and the other man had been bailed for burglary and drugs charges.

Police had boldly entered the flat as they were certain of their safety.

Sgt Dobson explained: "Every division had to supply 60 target packages. They have to be quality-controlled and checked to make sure they are up to date.

"We have to have every address physically checked for risk assessment so staff are safe - that there are no Rottweilers for example."

Homes with children are only entered at a time when they would be at school, and force is only used when necessary.

But months of painstaking preparation was rewarded in the week's several hundred arrests said Sgt Dobson, enlisted from seven years in CID for the specialist uniformed team.

"We are doing what we all joined the police for, and that's the bad guys," he added. "It's been a long road from February to this, and we are absolutely delighted with the results."