A NEW mobile CCTV unit could be coming to a street near you -- thanks to £80,000 worth of funding from Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Councils.

Police in Pennine Division have taken delivery of the unit which officers hope will be keeping an eye on crime across the division 365 days a year.

The new high-tech unit is equipped with six CCTV cameras mounted in various positions, monitors, video recorders, police radios, a public address system, fax machine and colour printer.

It will be used for a variety of different purposes including keeping a watchful eye over planned events like football matches and festivals, to target crime and juvenile nuisance hot-spots, and to support everyday operational policing.

Regular patrol officers, Community Beat Managers, Police Community Support Officers and members of the Special Constabulary will all be receiving specific training to enable them to use the unit.

PC Dave Sykes, from Pennine Division's Community Safety Team, said: "The new mobile CCTV unit is yet another weapon in the fight against crime.

"We are delighted with the high-tech vehicle and grateful to all three of our local authorities who provided the necessary funding to purchase it.

"The unit, built to our exact specification, will undoubtedly prove to be a valuable addition to the equipment we have at Pennine, enabling us to gather footage in areas previously not covered by CCTV.

"With cameras situated in various different parts of the vehicle, operators will have an excellent all round view.

"This is a great piece of equipment for us, however, I expect that local criminals will be much less enthusiastic about it since experience shows that when we have CCTV pictures of offenders the chances of them not only being identified but also convicted, are usually extremely good."