POLICE and politicians have vowed to keep tackling serious crimes after officers recorded 1,073 knife crimes and 310 gun crimes in Bradford over the last two years.

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request show West Yorkshire Police dealt with at least 26 incidents of knife crime a month between April 2016 and March 2018.

The worst month for knife crimes during this period was January this year when 80 crimes were recorded by West Yorkshire Police - almost 30 more than the previous four weeks.

There were 310 gun crimes in the same 23 month period, with the worst recorded month in August 2017 when officers attended 22 crimes.

Figures also showed how many knife crimes took place in each council ward.

The ward with the highest amount of knife crimes was Bowling and Barkerend with 39.

Police recorded 13 threats to kill with a knife, 11 assaults with an injury and six assaults with intent to cause serious harm.

Thirty seven knife crimes were recorded in the Inner City ward, including 20 knife point robberies, while 33 were recorded in Tong.

They included 14 assaults with injury and five knife point robberies.

Imran Hussain, MP for Bradford East, said the number of crimes recorded points to the reality that police do not have enough resources.

He said: "I am in frequent contact with the Chief Superintendent of West Yorkshire Police regarding serious and violent crime, but the fact is, since 2010 the police have been woefully under-resourced, with £140 million cut from West Yorkshire Police’s budget and hundreds of officers taken off our streets by this Tory Government.

"The Home Secretary and the Prime Minister have created these conditions with reckless cuts that have allowed crime to thrive, failed to protect the public and left our communities exposed, and it is time that they match Labour’s pledge to put an extra 10,000 police officers on the beat."

According to Government statistics, in the year ending March 2017, there were 34,700 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales. This is the highest number in the seven-year series (from year ending March 2011) the earliest point for which comparable data are available.

Cllr Alan Wainwright, who represents Tong ward for Bradford Council, vowed to keep tackling criminals and stop them from wreaking havoc.

He said: "Ward councillors, the police and Bradford Council officers are constantly working against these people who are causing crimes.

"We will not give up on our mission."

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, is working on a number of projects to tackle knife crime.

He added: "Here in West Yorkshire I am funding a number of local West Yorkshire initiatives working with schools and my Youth Advisory Group with a focus on early intervention and prevention.

"Nationally I am also involved in a task group looking to help co-ordinate bids into the Home Officer Early Intervention Fund.

"However, this problem needs more than a policing alone response and I will continue to work closely with West Yorkshire Police but also with key partners and people in local authorities and voluntary groups across our communities to tackle these crimes that can devastate lives, recognising that we all have a part to play in prevention and raising awareness."

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police added: "West Yorkshire Police are committed to prosecuting anyone found to be possessing or using a knife or firearm.

"The work of our partners and community based projects is important, as is the vigilance of families who believe one of their relatives may carry weapons.

"Tackling it requires various approaches, from school inputs and awareness campaigns, to weapons surrenders which are always successful in taking weapons out of circulation, to actively targeting offenders."