A RESIDENTS' group today claimed a solution may have been found to stop vandals jeopardising a £2million bid to improve a beauty spot.

Incidents of vandalism at Corporation Park, Blackburn, have fallen since the CCTV system was upgraded last month.

The park has only been provisionally awarded the lottery cash, and local residents felt continued vandalism would prevent the bid being secured later this year.

Seven months ago, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council officers pledged to work with the police and residents after admitting all previous attempts to protect the park had been a failure.

Since then the existing CCTV system has been upgraded to provide a better quality of image and additional cameras have been installed to cover more of the park.

A spokesperson for the council said incidents of vandalism had dropped since early February when two youths were caught on camera and arrested after smashing windows at the Victorian Conservatory.

Pam Simon, chairperson of the Corporation Park Supporters' Group (CPSG), said this had deterred others who had run wild in the park for months.

"This new system has been picking up people a lot more clearly," she said.

"Because of the vandalism to the conservatory, plans for an area for children to kick a football about have had to be put on hold because the council has to spend that money repairing the glass. Every time something like that happens money gets diverted from something else.

"The heritage bid states that is is important we have the Victorian conservatory, because it is something for the town to be proud of, not for this wanton vandalism. But it was constantly vandalised for some time.

"But now the big thing is that CCTV has caught the vandals up. People kept saying to us 'when will someone get caught' and now they have. People had caught on to the previous system, but this covers a much bigger area and the pictures from them are much clearer."

Councillor Kate Hollern, executive member for leisure and culture at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said: "This latest addition to security in the borough will not only help to protect the conservatory, but it will also give added safety to members of the public who want to use the park.

"We hope that the early success we have had since the introduction of CCTV will act as a deterrent to would-be vandals."

A council spokesman said they had forecasted the reduction in vandalism would cut the amount they spend on repairs each year by 40 per cent.