AN extra £25,000 of council money will be spent on security in Bournemouth next summer to compensate for the lack of CCTV cameras.

Security cameras along Bourne-mouth seafront will be switched off this week after a report revealed that the once-pioneering system was reaching the end of its life.

During the first phase of the improvement programme, expected to last a year, there will be just 18 working cameras in the town centre, 11 at Boscombe, seven at Westbourne Gardens and 36 at the Richmond Hill car park.

Long-term improvements worth around £5 million are planned but until these are in place, the seafront will benefit from overnight security patrols by council officers between April and September.

Cameras at the town hall and many town centre car parks will also be switched off as part of an initial £736,000 upgrade of the archaic system.

A further £4.3 million will then have to be found to provide the town with a CCTV system fit for the 21st century.

Conservatives on the council have criticised the decision to switch off cameras and instead believe council-owned assets should be sold to pay for the system to be upgraded and extended.

Cllr David Smith said: "There is a crisis of funding for CCTV in Bournemouth and the Liberal Democrat council do not see it as one of their priorities.

"The residents I speak to think that is wrong and that public safety should come first. I agree with them."

But Cllr Jean Moore, cabinet member for developing communities and tackling crime, said: "We have a long-term strategy for CCTV in Bournemouth to ensure it reflects the community safety and crime prevention needs of the town.

"In some areas, CCTV is not of an operational standard at the moment, however this is short-term and will enable us to refocus budgets on an upgraded core service.

"Additional security arrangements will be in place, though, to ensure that security is still of paramount importance in the town."

First published: October 27