Troublemakers are to receive hand-delivered letters from police to discourage attacks on foreign students in Oxford.

Officers from the Leys neighbourhood team – including Sgt Rob Axe, pictured – will deliver notes to people previously found guilty of robberies in Blackbird Leys.

Police will also carry out mounted patrols to raise their presence on the estate.

Last summer, ten young tourists and foreign students were targeted by robbers in the city. Four of the offences took place in Blackbird Leys.

Insp Andy Storey said: “People will receive letters through the door saying ‘we are keeping an eye on you, we know who you are, don’t offend’. Rather than sit back and wait for things to happen, we are being proactive.”

Police will patrol known problem areas, such as Gillian’s Park, with heads of language schools, to spread the word about staying safe among the foreign student population.

Insp Storey said letters would be sent out in May and June, before the foreign students arrive. Earlier this year, language school EF, based at the Kassam Stadium, said parents of foreign students felt sending their children to the estate was unsafe.

Sgt Axe said: “In the past we’ve sent Christmas cards to offenders, these new letters can only have a positive effect.”