A national initiative to cut street crime has failed to meet its ambitious target in Nottinghamshire.

The county's police force was one of 10 around the country to take part in the project aimed at cutting crimes such as mugging.

The government had set a target of reducing street crime by 20%, but in Nottinghamshire it fell by just 2%.

Despite the small decrease, chief constable Steve Green said an initiative in the city of Nottingham had been a success.

City crime

The force was given �500,000 under the project which was launched by Prime Minister Tony Blair in April after a surge in offences.

Interim figures, released on Thursday, show that nationally there were 2,000 fewer robberies last month than in March, just before the scheme started.

But in Nottinghamshire there were just six fewer robberies, representing just a 2% drop.

The county was chosen because it is one of the ten worst areas in the country for street crime.

Mr Green said: "We welcomed our involvement in the street crime initiative and the injection of extra funding, which we have channelled into dedicating extra officers and resources to tackle the problem."

He said Nottingham accounted for 80% of all robberies within the force and a successful initiative to cut crime in the city was being rolled out across the county.