POLICE on a routine patrol in York helped rescue a 99-year-old who had suffered a broken hip.

Officers and volunteers from North Yorkshire Police's York West team were on patrol for Operation Joypad on Tuesday evening, when they discovered the woman, who had collapsed in her New Earswick home.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said officers contacted the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and remained with the woman until her family and paramedics arrived, and she was taken to York Hospital.

Inspector Lee Pointon, of York Police, paid tribute to the Operation Joypad team and said this incident helped show the importance of keeping policing alive in the community.

He said: "I’m very proud of the officers and PCSOs who tended to this woman, and were able to reassure her until an ambulance could arrive. It just goes to show the benefits of a proactive policing operation like Joypad – officers are out in the community, keeping people safe and dealing with the unexpected. 

"As well as making sure the woman was OK, officers checked more than 800 homes in the north and west of York last night, ensuring homeowners are safe from burglars."

Operation Joypad is an ongoing security project, in which teams of police officers and volunteers patrol the streets of York and check the security of homes and garages, giving advice to residents where needed.

More than 14,000 homes around the city have been checked during the campaign, which has run since the beginning of May.

Insp Pointon said he hoped the campaign would help "ensure York remains a no-go area for sneak-in burglars". 

He said: "Although York is a very safe city in which to live, crimes of opportunity tend to increase in the summer, as homeowners leave windows and doors open, or spend time in back gardens."