RESIDENTS in Prestwich will be the first to get a bird's eye view of the CCTV camera coverage of the town.

The long-awaited equipment, costing £915,000, is to be installed over the next few weeks at various crime hot-spots.

But first a demonstration video will be made to show residents exactly what to expect from the cameras. As engineers install the 22 CCTV cameras in Prestwich they will film the scene from the top of the poles on which the cameras will be mounted to show what they will 'see' when in operation.

The video will be shown at a public meeting of Prestwich Area Board at the Longfield Suite on Tuesday, April 9.

Project manager Martin Hall, who works for Bury Council's environment and development services department, said the video would show which camera positions actually worked in practice.

He said: "Obviously the positions of the cameras are not cast in stone and if we discover one position does not show what we expected then it can be changed."

The locations of the cameras will be along Bury Old and Bury New Roads, with three lenses in the Longfield Centre and coverage extending right down to Rainsough.

Work will start on installation and the making of the video next week and priority will be given to the Heaton Park area to coincide with the start of the Commonwealth Games as the park is hosting the bowls event.

It is expected the scheme will be completed by May/June.