A crackdown by police has cut town centre assaults by half.

There was a 49.4 per cent drop in all types of reported assaults in Crawley in the 12 months to the end of March.

This included a 61.5 per cent decrease in the category for one of the most serious types of assaults, causing grievous bodily harm.

The success is due to Operation Marble, which attracted national attention when extra officers were put on the streets on busy pub and club nights, including an evidence-gathering team with a video camera.

Insp Steve Keeler, who leads Forest Division's work against violent crime, said: "The 49.4 per cent drop means 128 fewer people became victims of this type of crime, or suffered personal injury.

"The figures are due to high profile, low tolerance policing along with town centre CCTV and the best Pubwatch in the country."

He said officers set the tone early in the evening with a timely word to drinkers, followed up with a highly visible presence at closing time.

"Officers deal firmly and give low tolerance to anybody behaving in a disorderly or drunken manner.

"People arrested can expect to appear before magistrates and be punished for any loutish behaviour, sometimes before the cost of their revelry has appeared on their bank statement."

He said police had been backed up by expansion and improvements to Crawley town centre's surveillance camera system, helped by extra funding from local and regional government.

Don Edwardson, Crawley Council community safety officer, said: "The council very much supports the efforts of police in reducing town centre violence.

"As part of our contribution we have invested heavily in CCTV and in working with the British Institute of Innkeeping to better manage pubs and clubs."

Crawley's Pubwatch scheme has played an important part in making the town centre a safer place to drink and last month was voted Pubwatch of the Year by a pub trade magazine.

Under the scheme, licensees are in radio contact and warn each other about troublemakers. Magistrates can ban persistent offenders from pubs.