PEDAL power has proved an effective weapon in the fight against crime for a squad of biking bobbies who are patrolling city streets.

The two-wheeled lawmen in York have attended more than 100 incidents, made 28 arrests and covered 1,500 miles in the first month of a trial scheme.

Sergeant Nigel Tottie, who heads the team, said the element of surprise had been a big factor in catching the criminals.

"Because we are out there on the streets we have seen or heard things we might not normally have picked up had we been in an ordinary police vehicle," he said.

"One of the advantages of being on bicycles is that, in about a third of the arrests we have made, the people involved haven't heard us coming and didn't know we were there until we were right on top of them. On quite a few occasions we are beating other police vehicles to incidents."

Alongside the practical results, the members of the bike patrol say positive feedback from the public shows their presence is helping to make people feel safer.

Sgt Tottie said: "Wherever we go, people have been very supportive and interested in what we are doing."

Members of the cycle squad have started handing out questionnaires in a bid to properly gauge the public's reaction.

Dressed in special uniforms and riding purpose-built mountain bikes, the team was initially tasked with patrolling the city centre and west side.

However, its patrols have been extending out as far as Rufforth, Poppleton and Bishopthorpe, and the team has also recently mounted anti-burglary patrols in the Clifton area.