MORE than 50 people were arrested in the police division covering Wyre Forest last year following tip-offs on a dedicated hotline.

Figures for the Crimestoppers service for West Mercia Constabulary's area during 2004 showed one in five calls force-wide ended in arrests and charges.

In the north Worcestershire division, which includes Wyre Forest, as well as Bromsgrove and Redditch, 310 calls led to direct action by police, including arrests in 51 instances.

Almost 25 people every month were arrested and charged in West Mercia, which covers Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire following the anonymous Crimestoppers tip-offs.

Stolen property worth £53,295 was recovered and illegal drugs valued at more than £60,000 were seized thanks to the information received.

West Mercia Crimestoppers is a charity and not a department of the police force its area corresponds with.

David Stevens, chairman of West Mercia Crimestoppers, said: "The number of suspects arrested and charged has increased by some 22 per cent, demonstrating how the Crimestoppers partnership is increasingly recognised as being effective in curbing criminal activity and the quality information gleaned from anonymous callers has improved credibility with the police."

He added: "We're an important charity. We provide the 0800 555111 telephone number. We provide the information to the police.

"We generate the calls - they act on the calls."

Mr Stevens stressed that the whole service was anonymous. "We can't trace calls," he explained.

The rate of one arrest for every five calls acted on in West Mercia was double the national average, he added.

Although rewards were available for tip-offs, Mr Stevens said: "The vast majority of people who give us information don't ask for a reward but we can pay one."

He went on: "Over 50 per cent of our calls are related to the drug trade."

Information provided through Crimestoppers was the type police would not get in any other way, he said.

Across the whole of the West Mercia area in 2004, 1,360 calls with useful intelligence were referred to be acted on, enabling police to arrest and charge 298 suspects.