A man described by police as a 'one-man crimewave' has been arrested as part of an ongoing operation to target Oxford's worst criminals.

Police involved in Operation Backlash spotted the man, who is well known to the city's autocrime team, in East Oxford.

He had been named as the police's number one target at their morning briefing because he had breached his bail conditions following an appearance at court four days before, charged with theft from a vehicle.

He was also on police bail on suspicion of burglary and possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply.

When he realised he had been spotted, the man fled on a bicycle, which police believe may have been stolen, into Florence Park.

Officers taking part in the operation elsewhere in the city were called to assist with a search on foot, and a watch was put on each of the entrances to make sure he did not escape.

After a 10-minute search of the park, the man was found hiding in a bush, still clutching the bike. Det Sgt Tony Lees, of the burglary team based at St Aldates, described the arrest as 'fantastic'.

He said: "I am really pleased with that. He is a crimewave in his own right.

"That man hits every crime category there is drugs, cars, burglaries, bikes. He scores in every box, so that is a great start to the operation today."

About 30 officers, all in plain clothes, were on the streets yesterday taking part in the operation, which aims to search out known criminals and disrupt crime patterns.

Two others arrests were made. One man was held on suspicion of possessing a controlled drug, again in Florence Park and a woman was held in Floyd Row, near St Aldate's police station, for breach of bail conditions.

Each morning the Backlash team are given a number of targets to look out for, people who may have an outstanding warrant for their arrest, or have breached bail conditions.

Officers are also able to use stop and account and stop and search powers to question and search anybody they believe is acting suspiciously.

Since Operation Backlash was launched in April, 346 people have been stop checked and 71 have been arrested on suspicion of crimes ranging from burglary and robbery to possession of an offensive weapon and immigration offences.

The operation also allows police to gather intelligence which is logged and recorded for future use.

Det Sgt Lees said: "Operation Backlash is about getting in the faces of criminals and making sure that they know we are watching them. We aim to ensure that criminals operating in our city know that we are out there looking for them."