Okehampton town councillors say their CCTV scheme for a town centre beauty spot is up and running —and police are already looking at one incident, according to one of them.

Cllr Tony Leech, who has overseen the CCTV project in Simmons Park, says the scheme has been launched to give members of the public peace of mind. Cameras are scheduled to be rolled out across the rest of the town in the not too distant future, said Cllr Leech, who also represents the town on West Devon Borough Council.

He said anti-social behaviour in the park, which includes an assault on a member of council staff, had ‘quitened down’ recently. But he said the council was going ahead with the second phase of the project, which would cover other potential hotspots in the town.

He said: ‘It (the cameras) is not just to stop trouble, it’s to give people some measure of security. We are talking more about the fear of crime, with a lot of people worried when they are walking around at night or in the late evenings.

‘The project started off with the chamber of trade 12 years ago before anti-social behaviour really began, but that didn’t happen, so the council took it on.

‘People will be aware that the cameras are there, because there are signs all over the town. We’ve got phase run up and running now and we will be moving onto phase two, where other areas of the town will be covered and for which we are getting funding. We’re looking at other areas such as Market Street and up the High Street and East Street. The police have already been given access to one incident. I think if people know they are being watched, then they are more unlikely to do something which is anti-social.’

Cllr Leech said it was planned to deploy mobile cameras and added: ‘They will be covering other areas which may be hot-spots of trouble as it becomes necessary.’

Anti-social behaviour has involved bottles being smashed, play equipment tampered with, and assaults, one on park-keeper James McGahey, who tried to intervene in an incident and received a broken nose.

Stones and boulders have been unearthed and thrown on pathways and a bottle was even thrown at an elderly woman walking her dog.