Fresh moves are being made in an attempt to set up a £100,000 closed-circuit television scheme in Harwich and Dovercourt.

Gerald Wallington-Hayes, chairman of the Harwich Crime Prevention Panel, said he would be submitting the bid to the Government before the end of the month.

He said: " I will be making a bid to the Home Office for funding. I am waiting on one or two companies for a quotation, but three units in Walton cost around £40,000.

"We are looking for seven units in Harwich and Dovercourt, so £100,000 or somewhere in that region is my target. Hopefully we might get sponsorship from various organisations within the town and from other sources."

Mr Wallington-Hayes added he would be collating a "saleable" bid using crime facts and figures for the area. He said it was hoped to place cameras in Dovercourt town centre, old Harwich and the seafront.

Although the town has a relatively low crime rate, he said that did not mean the bid would necessarily fail. A similar scheme, a joint initiative between traders and Tendring Council, has proved successful in Clacton town centre.

An additional camera is to be added to the Clacton scheme at the town's High Street car park. It follows a spate of pre-Christmas vandalism which caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

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