Clifford's Beat Sweep initiative has been hailed a great success and is the "first of many to come" says a senior police officer.

Chf Insp Neil Bhole, from the partnership and justice team, made his comments at a roundup meeting for partners and members of the Old Trafford community at the Shrewsbury Community Centre on April 16.

He said: "The overall message has to be a big thank you to all our partners and the community as a whole. To succeed it needed the community to take some responsibility and I'm pleased to say the response was terrific.

"Now we intend to run them every three months in the north and south of the borough, this was a great success and our plan now is to learn from this experience and build them slightly bigger and better."

Trafford police joined forces with about 30 partner agencies between February 26 and March 9.

The operation was a response to a growing concern about the increase in gun and gang activities in Old Trafford during the last 12 months and in particular the Clifford ward.

The Beat Sweep operation involved officers working alongside council workers and other community agencies in targeting criminals, untaxed cars, anti-social behaviour and litter in the area.

During the operation 21 people were arrested, 47 vehicles were seized and about 120 tonnes of rubbish were removed from the area.