A brave policewoman tackled a wanted criminal as he tried to jump off a third floor balcony at flats in Shipley.

PC Clare Bastow made the arrest yesterday as part of a crackdown on Bradford's most prolific offenders.

In all, 28 arrests were made in the first week of round-the-clock swoops by the new Taskit team based at Bradford South CID.

The intelligence-led arrests were launched in a bid to cut crime figures for burglaries, robberies and car crime.

Detective Sergeant David Monaghan-Jones, heading the operation, said the people targeted were on bail for other offences and offending again.

He said: "In the incident in Shipley the wanted man was prepared to jump over a third floor balcony to escape arrest.

" PC Bastow and her colleague PC Andrew Barron did very well to hold on and call for back-up, sustaining a slight hand injury."

He said there were deliberate targets in mind. "They are people who are in the circle of the court process, know they are going away and have nothing to lose and think to themselves: 'Let's go for it.'

"They are prolific offenders and are responsible for a large amount of crime in the communities where they live."

Among the 25 arrested were eight suspected burglars, three in breach of bail conditions and 14 where warrants were out for failure to appear at court, non-payment of fines or breach of bail conditions.

The Taskit team, made up of nine plainclothes and uniformed officers, uses a two-pronged tactic: disruption or arrest.

Disruption involves visiting known offenders who are out on bail to make sure they are sticking to their conditions. And arrests are made where they are suspected of having committed an offence while on bail.

Day-to-day crime figures already show there has been a major impact. Car break-ins are down by a half overall. And in one 24-hour spell there were no robberies and only two burglaries where figures would normally be into double figures.

Det Sgt Monaghan-Jones added: "There is a real buzz around the police station. We are making an impact and getting the results. It shows we are targeting the right people."

Detective Inspector John Armitage, in overall command, said: "We are keeping the criminals on the back foot so they don't know when we are coming or where."

The Taskit operation is a pilot scheme and the first in West Yorkshire.