The shutdown of businesses for extended Christmas holidays helped reduce alcohol-fuelled crime in December, according to police.

Officers said potentially high concentrations of drinkers on certain days were diluted this year because many revellers had more days off work to choose from.

In December 2005, violent crime in the Keighley Division, which includes Bingley and Shipley, was down about 15 per cent on the previous year's figures, according to Chief Inspector Steve Hodgson.

In the week before Christmas, there were 57 incidents of violent crime in the division compared to 69 in 2004 - a 17.4 per cent reduction.

Chief Insp Hodgson said: "The trend for this last month has been very positive and encouraging. A lot of companies shut down and had an extended period off work. People taking eight to ten days off can have an impact because people only have X amount of money to spend, so they have to be selective about when they go out.

"The reduction in violent crime over the month is down to a culmination of things, one of which is high-profile policing and police stepping in before things go too far.

"In relation to violent crime, we have had no major incidents, apart from the taser gun incident in Howarth which was more domestic-related rather than alcohol-related.

"But there are a lot of things which can have a bearing on the figures, such as snow which can put people off travelling into the town centres."

A spokesman for the Sir Titus Salt, on Morley Street, Bradford, said the pub had been consistently busy over Christmas and New Year, but had not experienced any problems.

And Andy Longman, owner of the Suburban Style Bars in Bingley, Baildon and Otley, said customers were still keen on 'traditional drinking days' such as the Friday before Christmas, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

"But there has also been an upturn in trade outside those three traditional days and that could be down to people being off work for longer periods," he added.

Chief Insp Hodgson said it was too early to tell if the new licensing laws had made a difference. "We will be analysing what has happened in the last month to see if there are any problematic premises."

Bradford Council's Licensing Department has not received any reports from police about licence holders acting irresponsibly or breaching the terms of their new licenses.