Community groups and police in York were celebrating today after crime figures were slashed on a revitalised city estate.

Superintendent John Lacy, of York Police, revealed today that crime had dropped by 39 per cent in north Clifton.

And householders and businesses were given a special boost by the news that burglaries are down by a massive 61 per cent.

The figures buck the national trend which shows a 3.8 per cent increase in crime - and they contributed to a 3.2 per cent overall drop in crime in North Yorkshire.

"There were 2,263 reported crimes in 1999," said Supt Lacy.

"There were 1,371 reported for the same period in 2000, which marks a substantial decrease.

"However, I was particularly encouraged by the figure for burglaries in the area, which have dropped by a massive 61 per cent.

"In 2000, there were 133 burglaries reported compared with 343 for 1999, which shows a staggering decrease."

The news comes just a year after the North Clifton Regeneration Project was set up with the help of a £1.6 million grant from the Government.

The work came about after a successful bid by City of York Council, working with residents, to the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

The cash is to be released over a three-year period to raise educational standards, broaden training opportunities and tackle drug-related and other types of crime.

The money has also paid for a youth worker, an employment outreach worker, a household income advisor, a family support worker, family learning outreach worker and an after-school club.

Judith Jones, co-ordinator of the project, who is based in the community house in Burton Green, said: "It's the groups of residents who continue to shape how we spend the money.

"All the good work that the residents have been putting their time, effort and dedication into, working with the police, has ended up with these really good results."

Praise has also been directed to private security patrols which were introduced in November, funded by the Home Housing Association and North Clifton Regeneration Project.

They are run by Mayfair Group Response, a company which has already run similar patrols in Carlton, near Selby, with success.

Alan Jones, the councillor for Clifton, vowed when the money was granted that it would enhance lives and today welcomed the new figures.

Supt Lacy said: "There has been a lot of bad publicity regarding the North Clifton area in recent years. We have shown what working together can do. We have created a multi-agency approach to making North Clifton a better place to live."

Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator Brian Flanagan said: "This is brilliant news. It shows that people are reporting things to the police and there has been good work by the police and Clifton & Bootham Neighbourhood Watch, which covers more than 1,000 houses in the regeneration area."