Criminals who target the city's university students will be kicked off campus under a new initiative.

Bradford Central Police is joining forces with the University of Bradford, pictured, to try to make student sites crime-free zones.

Starting this month all offenders, including students who prey on their colleagues, will be served with "exclusion notices" and banned from stepping foot on the premises.

The new scheme is part of a raft of initiatives which are helping to combat campus crime.

Arrivals for the new term are being blitzed with crime-prevention advice and safety tips to help them settle away from home.

And a proactive police team will be targeting known offenders in the area on the look out for rich pickings as students move into Bradford's bedsit-land.

Bradford Central crime prevention officers PC Lew MacKenzie and PC Paul Corah say the aim is to make students feel safe and ensure they do not become victims of crime.

PC MacKenzie said: "For a lot of students it will be their first time away from home with their own door key.

"We want to make sure they know they are responsible for their own property and safety, and are equipped with all the information they need to look after themselves."

Officers will be on hand at the university during Fresher's Week to continue the crime-prevention push.

And careless students who leave rooms insecure or property unattended will be left special "calling cards" as a warning.

The SWAG card scheme - developed by police, the Students' Union and Bradford's University and College - has already paid dividends.

Burglaries on student accommodation between September and December were reduced from 50 in 1998 to just three over the same period last year.

University of Bradford women's officer Claire Rose said greater results were achieved by working in partnership with police.

She said: "Last year was a great success and we hope to repeat that by making sure when students arrive they feel prepared for inner-city life."