Bradford police chiefs today declared they were winning the war against street crime after robbery figures fell for the first time in two years.

Newly-released official statistics showed how offences dropped by almost 14 per cent in the district over the last 12 months.

The newly-released quarterly figures highlighted a dramatic turnaround in the force's performance in tackling muggings and other violent hold-ups.

In December last year the Telegraph & Argus reported how robberies had soared by almost 50 per cent in Bradford over just a year.

But the latest West Yorkshire Police Authority documents, which cover the 12 months up to March 2003, showed offences were down by 13.8 per cent - 1,166 in 2002/3 compared to 1,353 in 2001/2.

It also stood at less than half of the 2,650 robberies committed in Leeds over the same period.

Detective Superintendent Geoff Dodd, of Bradford South Police, said robberies had been cut by 27.5 per cent within the division.

He added: "We have had a concerted effort over the last year, running operations week in and week out to target those prolific offenders who give people such misery. By getting them off the streets we are really making a difference."

Across West Yorkshire there were 4,947 recorded offences, a fall of 12.8 per cent in the final year. The downturn in offending followed a massive nationwide crackdown against robberies which saw the West Yorkshire Force handed £1.8 million of Government cash to tackle the problem.

While overall crime in Bradford rose by 4.2 per cent, the force blamed the increase on a new method of recording offences.

Without this the rate would actually have fallen by 8.1 per cent, it insisted.

Police numbers rose by 148 in West Yorkshire over the last financial year following a push to bring in hundreds of new recruits.

There are 5,091 officers employed in the county although one in five of these are now probationers. In 1997 West Yorkshire police had more than 5,200 officers.