A SPATE of town centre vandalism has triggered fresh demands for increased CCTV coverage in Bridport.

Smashed windows and damaged property have led council officials to call for trouble spots to be monitored more closely – particularly at weekends.

Town surveyor Daryl Chambers wants ‘more feedback from the cameras’ and is asking the Weymouth-based civilian operators to intensify Friday and Saturday night surveillance.

Councillors are also demanding the appointment of more staff to monitor the cameras amid claims that priority is being given to watching the streets in Weymouth and Dorchester – while Bridport’s hooligans often get away unseen. Chamber of Trade President Mike Harvey went further this week, demanding more ‘eye in the sky’ cameras should be installed to give the town centre 360 degree coverage, 24 hours a day.

His call comes after the windows at his Nantes solicitors’ offices in East Street were smashed twice in the past few weeks, along with those at The Chez Cuddy restaurant opposite.

Mr Harvey said: “The cameras are set at a certain position so they do not look in all directions at once.

“They go where the operator points them. But the cost of these cameras is cheap now and if you had multiple ones in each location they could cover all 360 degrees all the time. Whoever smashed our windows would have been caught on film.”

Town councillor Philip Lathey claimed Bridport was getting less coverage than its fellow camera partnership members at Weymouth and Dorchester.

He said: “From their base in Weymouth the CCTV people cover Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport and there is very often only one operator on duty so they prioritise – and that means it’s Weymouth, then Dorchester then Bridport. We could do with another operator so we can monitor Bridport more.

“This vandalism is happening very late at night or early in the morning and the only thing around then is the cameras.

“Some evenings the police are very, very busy and are just not able to patrol at that time of day.”

Bridport police Inspector Alan Jenkins said he was happy with the town’s level of CCTV coverage given the resources available.

He confirmed that the cameras are monitored on a 24 hours a day basis from their central control room in Weymouth by ‘highly trained operatives’ and reviewers, also working round the clock.

He said: “These operatives by definition have to monitor a significant number of screens and in doing so will give priority to some cameras rather than others depending on incidents or number of persons in an area.

“There will always be occasions when cameras not specifically directed, are in ‘roaming mode’ and may unfortunately miss incidents. No system is perfect and we of course always want more staff. Police officers are not employed to work in the CCTV office as they are far better utilised on the streets rather than monitoring screens.

“I am very satisfied with the service that Bridport is provided with and while recognising residents and shopkeepers concerns feel we have the best system available with the level of resources, both human and financial, that is put into it.

“We have had a great number of successes and also saved a large number of drawn out expensive legal cases. This frequently leads to a quick guilty plea which also saves the victims going to court.

“The operatives at the CCTV are all district council employees funded from various sources but primarily from Weymouth and Portland and West Dorset District Council.”

No-one at the camera monitoring HQ was available to comment.