THEY are always on duty, and their ever-watchful eyes keep a constant lookout for trouble.

These law enforcers have proved such a hit on their beat in York Hospital's accident and emergency (A&E) department that staff have asked for more of them to be deployed elsewhere in the building.

They are credited with helping to bring down the level of crime and trouble in the hospital complex.

Which is pretty good, when you consider that they are actually cardboard copies of the real thing.

The cut-out cops first appeared during a city-wide Say No To Crime Day initiative with North Yorkshire Police. But they were kept on in the hospital, where the male and female police officers hold posters reminding people that bad behaviour will not be tolerated in the hospital.

Hospital head of security Arthur Tomkins said their presence had an effect in calming some people down.

"It makes people think twice, it makes them reflect a littler bit. They are designed so wherever you stand they are staring you in the eye.

"It's like you have a officer of the law looking directly at you, and showing you this poster. We have found them extremely useful."

Mr Tomkins praised the team of real police officers and community support officers for the area, who regularly visited the hospital to check all was well.

Though he did not have full comparative figures available, he said in the past six months crime and antisocial behaviour had consistently fallen in the hospital and its grounds.

"We are really doing well in our fight against crime, and that has got to be down to staff becoming more crime aware and crime prevention aware," he said.

"I would like to congratulate every member of staff at York Hospital and Bootham Park Hospital for being security aware, and making life much more difficult for the opportunist thief."

Earlier this month the Evening Press reported that since 2002 the number of incidents of violence and intimidation reported by hospital workers had risen nearly five times, from 11 to 52 last year.

Incidents had included patients who bit, scratched, kicked, hit and verbally abused staff.

Updated: 10:04 Thursday, June 02, 2005