A crackdown on crime has resulted in more than 1,500 people being arrested.

Since Operation Delivery was launched on September 8, a total of 1,562 arrests have been made.

North Yorkshire Chief Constable Della Cannings has pledged there will be no let-up in the pressure. "This operation is relentless," she said.

The landmark 1,500th arrest came in York. An Operation Delivery team was bringing in a prisoner they had just arrested on a warrant when they spotted another wanted man, near a cash machine in the city centre.

When caught, he was in possession of a stolen cashcard and purse. The items were traced to a local business - where staff were unaware of the theft.

"Striking while the iron is hot is an important element of Delivery," said Deputy Chief Constable Roger Baker.

"But a great many of the arrests are coming as a result of careful, long-term planning, based on intelligence that has sometimes been pieced together over a period of months.

"We are doing particularly well with arrests that come as a result of liaison with our colleagues in neighbouring forces."

He said: "The word is now very strongly out that North Yorkshire is a bad place to visit for criminal purposes."