MORE CCTV CAMERAS WANTED

There are currently three at central High Street locations which were funded six years ago at a cost of some 38,000 by Lewes Town Council.

They are at the top and bottom of Station Street and at the bottom of School Hill.

Police see them as an important tool in identifying crimes and giving officers an opportunity to deploy more quickly.

The plan is to bring in three new ones at a cost of 55,000.

Inspector Jeff Woodall told Lewes Town Council members on Thursday last week that five potential sites had been selected but two were impractical for various reasons.

The three preferred sites were near Tesco, where the camera could also view the recreation ground, the road and the skate park; in Cliffe High Street, outside the Argos Store, and at the junction of Pelham Terrace and St John's Hill.

The new generation of closed circuit cameras are expected to have infra-red capacity for extra clarity at night, as well as a 360 degree swivel and low maintenance costs.

Lewes is currently thinly covered with CCTV at present, compared to other towns in the district, he added.

Although Lewes has a relatively low crime level, there are black spots not covered by existing CCTV surveillance such as the Pells and Malling Brooks areas where problems such as vehicle damage and anti-social behaviour sometimes occur.

Town clerk Steve Brigden said it appeared the budget for next year could cover the cost of one, or possibly two, new cameras.

Council members supported expanding the scheme and will make a final decision on the project at a later date.