BOLTON town centre will have more bobbies on bicycles after police were given five new bikes paid for by cash seized from criminals.

Police say the bikes are invaluable for responding quickly to incidents, often allowing them to get to where they are needed quicker than if they were driving. They are particularly useful during Operation Sherry, the police’s annual crackdown on Christmas Crime. The adapted Specialized Hardrock mountain bikes, worth about £300 each, were paid for by cash seized from criminals using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

In the first five months of this year, police in Bolton seized assets worth just under £80,000 and just over £90,000 in cash from criminals.

Last year £255,000 of assets and £55,000 in cash were seized.

Sgt Paul Ellis said: “Quite rightly, money has been taken directly out of the pockets of criminals and has been put back into the heart of community policing.”

Police were given the power to seize money from criminals when the Proceeds of Crime Act was passed in 2002. Assets are taken after court hearings if it can be proved that criminals have benefited from their illegal activity.

Half of all cash seized and 18.75 per cent of assets go back to the police. The Home Office get 50 per cent of the cash seized and the remainder is split between the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts service.