INCIDENTS of violent crime in the town centre have been almost halved in the last four months, figures have revealed.

The steep decline has come about after a major police operation called Dynamics was set up at the beginning of July specifically to tackle violent crime and public disorder.

During June, figures showed there were 113 incidents of violent crime in and around the town centre, including racially aggravated assaults, robbery and wounding.

The number of violent incidents actually accounted for a fifth of all violent crime in the north of the county.

Further police operations called Chance and the currently on-going Guinevere have followed on from Dynamics but are still focused on tackling violent crime and public disorder.

A police spokesman said: "Obviously the operations have proved a success because while they have been ongoing, there has been a 46 per cent reduction in violent crime and a 35 per cent reduction in incidents of public disorder."

The operations have included drafting in extra police officers from other areas of the county, the use of the mobile CCTV van and targeted patrols.

"We also wanted to provide reassurance to people coming into the town centre," the spokesman added.