WORK starts later this week on the installation of a controversial £600,000 CCTV system in Clitheroe and Whalley.

The 15-week installation programme will see 24 closed circuit television cameras erected at various sites in the centres of Clitheroe and Whalley, and the grounds of Clitheroe Castle.

The installation will be carried out by Crime Prevention Services, of Mold in North Wales, and the revamp of town centre car parks in preparation for the cameras has been already been undertaken.

Nine cameras will be replaced in Clitheroe town centre and an additional 11 installed in Clitheroe and Whalley, as well as four in the grounds of Clitheroe Castle.

But the scheme has come under fire from councillors, who have questioned its escalating cost and the effectiveness of CCTV.

The system is now expected to cost £72,000 a year to run, as opposed to the original estimate of £50,000.