A plea was issued by councillors demanding assets of crime be re-invested in the area the crime took place.

A motion was carried at Kirklees Full Council calling on the Home Office to hand back 55% of proceeds of crime money taken.

The vote was backed and the council will formally write to the Government demanding an answer.

Submitted by cross-party councillors, they said: “The Proceeds of Crime Act aims to recover assets gained by criminals as a result of their criminal behaviour. Currently all monies seized are paid to central government who then pay a proportion back to West Yorkshire Police.

“For the West Yorkshire region over the last 12 months an amount of £3.1m in funds has been retained by the Home Office with only £1.4m received by WYP – only 45% of the total amount.”

“At a time when severe cuts are being made to public services the retention of a significant proportion of these locally generated funds by central government further detracts from important projects that can be undertaken by West Yorkshire Police and their partners across the region.”

The motion adds that the money could “reduce anti-social behaviour and crime, leading to improved community cohesion and respect in our neighbourhoods.”

The motion was submitted by Clr Mehboob Khan, Clr Robert Light, Clr Terry Lyons, Clr Andrew Cooper and Clr Kath Pinnock.