A POLICE chief today claimed Lancashire was winning the war against street crime, despite a mixed performance in a multi-million pound initiative.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Barton's comments came after the government released figures for the first five-and-a-half months of the Safer Streets campaign.

Overall robbery was down 9.5 per cent in Lancashire, but the number of muggings went up 10 per cent during the 22 weeks.

DCS Barton said there was a 'clear downward trend' in street crime over the period with personal robbery down 11.7 per cent and thefts from the person down 3.8 per cent

He also stressed that more than half of street crime in the county occurs in Blackpool and Preston.

The national crackdown was launched in April by Tony Blair after a 31 per cent rise in street crime. Almost £70 million pounds was shared between 10 forces which account for 80 per cent of robberies.

Street crime has been cut by 14 per cent nationally during the first 22 weeks of the scheme as police mounted drugs raids, high visibility patrols and devoted officers to gathering intelligence on suspected criminals.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Barton said: "This is excellent news and demonstrates all the hard work by all our partners and ourselves.

"Our aim is to continue this good work to ensure that this downward trend is maintained and makes Lancashire a safer place to live, work and visit."