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Secret cameras will snare vandals

15/ 5/2008

HIDDEN cameras are to be used in the fight against anti-social behaviour.

Two covert cameras will be part of a hi-tech surveillance scheme targeting known trouble hotspots in the Cheapside area.

A controversial ‘mosquito’ device – which emits an ultra sonic siren only teenagers can hear - will also be installed to deter gangs of young thugs gathering inside blocks of flats.

Plans for the new spy cameras which will be used alongside three other CCTV cameras on the flats and commercial premises were unveiled at the Middleton Township Safer Communities Partnership Meeting on Friday 9 May and are expected to cost around £1200.

It comes just a week after the Guardian revealed how pint-sized vandals had wrecked nearby Boarshaw Cemetery destroying memorial plaques, uprooting flowers and flooding the toilets.

Desperate residents have complained about their lives being made a misery by anti-social thugs and more than 50 fed-up householders turned out for the last PACT (Police and Community Together) meeting to voice their concerns.

Eric Holliday, Middleton's Community Safety Officer, said the area was now a priority for housing, police and council bosses.

He said: "People are suffering and the area is one of our priorities for the next four weeks.

"Cheapside is a relatively small area and it is an area where we can make a difference."

Inspector Gary Hall, from Middleton police, said: "There is a fairly large group of young people causing problems and we have increased patrols in the area."

Councillor Jonathan Burns, who represents the north Middleton ward, said: "I think anti-social behaviour is a priority across Middleton.

"There are issues with underage drinking on Cheapside itself and moving up towards Wagstaffe Street and in Boarshaw and it is specific to weekends.

"These deployable cameras, were backed by the Middleton Township, and can be put up at the request of residents. It is better than having one fixed camera."

- An action plan drawn up by the multi-agency partnership task force could also see a 'mosquito' device fitted on Lakeland Court, Langley, to try and combat yobbish behaviour there.