LONG-AWAITED CCTV cameras in Wimborne have gone live to the delight of civic chiefs and shopkeepers.

The first spy-in-the-sky cameras are already up and running with the remainder being switched on over the coming weeks.

Town mayor Cllr Alan Flint said: "We have had a very good response from the public. There were only two complaints about the location of some of the cameras. People want the town to be protected."

A total of 18 cameras have been put up in the town's known trouble hotspots and car parks. They will be monitored from the town's police station and officers will be able to study recording material in the event of any incidents.

Cllr Flint added: "It is only an idea at the moment but we are looking at recruiting volunteers to monitor the cameras."

Campaigners, including many traders, have been calling for CCTV for a number of years, particularly amid concerns over the behaviour of some individuals on Friday and Saturday nights. In 1999 they were dealt a blow when the Home Office turned down a bid for funding.

But when the council failed in its efforts to buy Crown Mead Gardens last summer, it jumped at the chance to use £110,000, which had been set aside for that project, to pay for the cameras.

The Dorset Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership has made a £6,000 grant and the council will also receive annual funding from East Dorset District Council.

Insp David Ayres, section commander for the area covering Wimborne, said he welcomed the scheme.

"It will not solve all of the problems. It is a tool which will assist in reducing crime within the area because it provides the best evidence," he said.