Street wardens who patrol Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys, in Oxford, have been told to get on their bikes.

The city council wardens have just taken delivery of new mountain bikes, to make them more mobile and allow them to respond faster to emergency calls.

Three bikes were bought thanks to a donation from the Oxford Association of Neighbourhood Watches, an organisation representing more than 6,000 Neighbourhood Watch volunteers who live in the city.

The wardens are following the example of Oxford police, who routinely use mountain bikes to patrol the streets and catch out criminals who might spot a patrol car.

Neighbourhood Watch administrator Steve Morant said: "OANW is delighted to be able to buy three bicycles for the street wardens.

"This will help them move around the estate quicker and patrol the area more efficiently and effectively."

The community wardens have been praised for their work in some of the city's toughest areas since their inception in 2003.

Councillors see the £400,000 a year budget for the service as money well spent.

The wardens, who have no powers of arrest but act as the eyes and ears of the community, have new powers to tackle troublemakers, including the ability to issue on-the-spot fines for dropping litter, cycling on pavements or letting dogs foul public places.

When they first began work, the wardens could only report incidents of graffiti, vandalism, fly-tipping and abandoned cars to the relevant authorities, and were entitled to free bus trips.

Last year, the Government gave the Town Hall a £1.3m grant to employ four-strong teams of street wardens to cover Blackbird Leys, Rose Hill, Littlemore, Wood Farm, Barton and Sandhills.

Some councillors wanted the 17 wardens to be given powers to request names and addresses of yobs, stop vehicles and confiscate alcohol and tobacco from minors, but these would require the approval of Thames Valley Police.

City councillor Caroline van Zyl, the executive member for a safer city, said: "We're grateful to the Oxford Association of Neighbourhood Watches for donating this money.

"The work of the Neighbourhood Watch volunteers is an invaluable asset to the community in deterring crime and antisocial behaviour."