ANTI-social youths will be caught on camera after police community support officers were given state-of-the-art bodycams.

Six of the £500 cameras have been bought for the South West Neighbourhood officers to pilot, using funding from the local strategic partnership board.

If they prove successful by helping to convict yobs and provide evidence for court orders, they could be rolled out across Blackburn with Darwen.

Sergeant Paul Schofield said the cameras, which have four hours recording time, had been used previously by response officers attending incidents such as domestic violence in East Lancashire.

He said: “They will certainly help us tackle anti-social behaviour because those people who are approached will know they are being recorded.”

Inspector Bilal Mulla said: “We’ve been trialling different types of body worn video devices for 12 months.

“It has been shown that they have reduced the number of complaints against police.

“PCSOs don’t always have the powers of a police officer and some members of the community show them no respect.

“They will increase the confidence of PCSOs as well as the confidence of the public.

“It will give us another tool in the box. We can educate people by showing them their behaviour, encouraging early guilty pleas or withdrawn allegations.

“The evidence can be used with individuals, parents and other organisations to try and manage offender’s behaviour.”

PCSOs have had familiarisation courses with the technology, which will be in operation this week.

The cameras are about the size of a mobile phone and capture sound and pictures. Officers have to tell people they are being recorded.

The devices, which have 4GB of memory and also work at night, were first used in Eastern division during the festive period.