Police have tackled street level crime and anti-social behaviour in Huddersfield town centre.

A knife arch was deployed at Huddersfield Railway Station resulting in one man being arrested on suspicion of possessing Class A drugs and illegal weapons.

High-profile patrols were also carried out in and around St Peter’s Gardens in response to concerns about anti-social behaviour.

Joint work with West Yorkshire Trading Standards resulted in £10,000-worth of counterfeit tobacco being seized which included 15,000 cigarettes and 800g of hand rolling tobacco.

Officers also cracked down on fake perfume sellers with one man stopped, and several boxes of fake perfume seized under the Trade Marks Act 1994.

Dewsbury town centre was also a focus of police activity and Sgt Amanda Holroyd, of the Kirklees Town Centre Partnership, said: “Officers have been highly active in Kirklees with partner agencies over the past two weeks conducting operations to address a full spectrum of street level crime, and the feedback we have had from residents has been very positive.

“Street drinking and related anti-social behaviour can, and does, cause real misery to residents and it has been pleasing to see street drinking in particular has notably reduced compared to this point in 2022.”

Clr Carole Pattison, Kirklees Council’s Cabinet member for safer Kirklees, said: “Colleagues across the council and our partner services work hard all year to combat illegal and anti-social behaviour.

“However, joint operations like this enable us to maximise our shared potential and make a clear statement that anyone who thinks it is ok to act in a way that could harm others, should think twice.

“Street crime is far from victimless, not only does it impact on the wellbeing of those who witness it, it also leads to a negative view of our town centres which impacts on the businesses that serve us.

“By working together with the public, we can make our town centres safer and more enjoyable places to travel to and spend time in.”

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