BURNLEY is making a £322,000 bid to tackle crime by extending the town's very successful CCTV system.

Security cameras have brought about a big reduction in town centre crime, and if the bid is successful they could soon be installed in many other areas across the borough.

Burnley is competing for a share of the government's £15 million CCTV fund. A team from the council, the police and Initiative Burnley have put together a package to build on the effectiveness of the existing system.

Three months of hard work have gone into a plan to bring in private sector funding to match the potential award from the government. Some £90,000 has been generated.

If the bid is successful, 15 new cameras around Burnley will be linked to the central control centre.

Next week sees a signing ceremony to officially make the bid. The chairman of Initiative Burnley, Paul Dawson, will join council leader Kath Reade and Burnley's police chief, Superintendent Mike Griffin, for the event at Burnley town hall on Tuesday.

Mrs Reade told the Citizen: "We must of course tackle the causes of crime, but we must also provide practical immediate protection from criminals.

"CCTV is a deterrent to anti-social people and we are doing all we can to secure this funding."

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