BLACKPOOL Borough Council has denied accusations that it plans to shelve plans for CCTV cameras in the town's car parks.

In fact it says that the next phase of extending CCTV coverage of the town -- including the car parks and South Shore -- is now under way.

Blackpool Town Centre Forum has applied to businesses in the town to make a contribution towards the running costs of the cameras.

Nigel Hanson, the town centre manager, said that up until now revenue funding for CCTV came from the council and from Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) money, but said he felt it was now time for the businesses that benefit from the cameras to make a contribution.

He said: "For some time now businesses in the town centre have benefited from CCTV cameras without really having to pay, so I have asked various businesses if they will pay a proportion of the annual costs." He said that the amount would be very small and gave an example: "The maximum amount we would ask from a major town centre store is £500 -- less than a tenner a week." He added that compared to the cost of a smashed plate glass window, for example, this was a very small sum.

Mr Hanson added that some businesses have already agreed to contribute, but more cash is still needed.

"We need more money and this support needs to come from the private sector," he said.