THE whole of York is set to be patrolled by pedalling police officers following the relaunch of the Community Cycle Squad.

The squad, based at Fulford Road Police Station, was being relaunched today with 11 officers instead of the original four.

The ten constables and one sergeant will cover the whole of city.

The pilot project of four cycle officers patrolled Acomb and the western area of York from their base at Acomb Police Station.

That six-month trial proved extremely effective, with the squad attending 542 incidents, making 102 arrests and detecting 70 crimes - saving £1,500 in fuel costs in the process. So the project has now been expanded and made a permanent feature of policing in the city of York.

Sergeant Nigel Tottie who headed the original scheme and continues to lead the new squad, will take to the streets from next week.

Sgt Tottie said: "The pilot scheme was a real success, so it was decided to expand and make officers on cycles a regular feature of policing in York.

"With these extra officers I hope we can now improve on what we achieved last year and make a real impact on the amount of crime in the city."

Updated: 11:04 Tuesday, October 07, 2003