A £63,000 Home Office grant which will bring closed-circuit television to South Woodham Ferrers has been welcomed by the town council.

Covering the town's trouble 'hotspots' including Trinity Square, Market Square and the area around the Town Crier pub, the system will include three state-of-the art pan, tilt and zoom cameras and four fixed cameras, all capable of delivering high-resolution colour images in low light levels.

They will be monitored and recorded 24 hours a day by staff at the existing CCTV control centre in Chelmsford.

South Woodham town clerk welcomed the grant as "excellent news".

"This success has been achieved thanks to the efforts of the town and borough councillors," she said.

"The project complements the town council's regeneration initiatives and will enhance the health and safety of residents using the town centre."

The grant will be added to a £15,000 contribution from the town council, £8,000 from Chelmsford Borough Council and £2,500 from Essex Police.

Work had already been set to start in February and it is now expected all three phases of the project will be completed before the autumn.

The new system will be capable of connection to the existing CCTV system at William de Ferrers School and to private closed-circuit television cameras.

Street lighting at selected town centre locations is to be improved by Essex County Council to complement the scheme.

Borough council leader Phil Harvey said: "This is very welcome news and shows the continuing successes of our partnership approach to CCTV in Chelmsford borough. Our experts and the police confidently predict it will be possible to reduce incidents in the town centre by up to a third using the new system."

Partners in the scheme include town and borough councils, Essex Police, Trinity St Mary's Primary School and the local business community.

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