CHRISTMAS cards from the police will be dropping through the letterboxes of wanted criminals throughout the remainder of the festive season - but the message inside is far from festive.

A total of 2,500 arrests have already been made under the umbrella of Operation Delivery, in North Yorkshire, and Chief Constable Della Cannings has warned there will be no let up over the next fortnight.

Officers will continue to call at the homes of suspects linked to crime in the county - and will leave a Christmas card if there is no reply. The message inside is unlikely to spread any Christmas cheer.

The cards first pose the question: "Where do you want to spend Christmas?"

It continues: "This is not a matter of if we get you, it's matter of when we get you. You can get this sorted at a time convenient for yourself or we can deal with when it is most convenient for us. The choice at this time is yours.''

"If you want to get it sorted out before Christmas then telephone the number below, or call in at a police station."

Deputy Chief Constable Roger Baker said: "There is a message on the front of this card which rather neatly sums what Operation Delivery and North Yorkshire Police are all about: 'Santa is busy ensuring he delivers to everyone on his list; so are we!' "

A force spokeswoman confirmed the initiative was not a first in the county. A similar scheme has been tried in Scarborough in the past and netted some useful results.

"It was surprising how many people were prepared to hold up their hands and face the music," she said.

"However, it's not just about securing convictions. It may be that we need to speak to some of these people simply so we can eliminate them from our inquiries.

"For example, their fingerprints may be on an item recovered from a scene of a crime, but it may not mean they're responsible.

"Once detectives know that, they can start pursuing other lines of inquiry, which helps with the clear-up rate."