A CRIME fighting council boss has called for a CCTV headquarters to provide round the clock monitoring across East Lancashire 365 days a year.

Ribble Valley Council chief executive Dave Morris wants local authorities to work together to provide a centralised monitoring station and emergency centre.

And his call has been backed by other local authorities and welcomed as a possible way forward by police.

Mr Morris said: "Closed circuit television in Ribble Valley certainly needs sharpening up, but we have particular problems with monitoring. Our system isn't big enough to stand alone.

"We have eight cameras and the cost of employing someone to monitor them round-the-clock is too high. We already have to use the Hyndburn Emergency Centre for the warden alert scheme in our sheltered housing. "One of the things we are looking at is an East Lancashire-wide monitoring station and local authorities should consider pooling their resources. They could work together to provide an expanding facility that gives 24-hour emergency cover and CCTV monitoring 365 days a year," he said.

Blackburn with Darwen and Hyndburn Councils already have their own CCTV monitoring systems and Mr Morris said he had "nothing but the highest regard for them."

But he added: "In efficiency terms, it would be more cost-effective for us to have a joint system. Closed circuit television deters criminals just by being there. They are less likely to commit a crime if there are cameras around and effective monitoring helps with detection.

"I have written to the chief executives of the East Lancashire authorities asking them to cooperate. A central monitoring station would be about local authorities working together to provide safer communities," he added. A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: "It is an interesting suggestion, but it would take a lot of time and money to look at the feasibility of the idea.

"The individual systems in East Lancashire are working very well on their own."

Burnley's monitoring station already covers the borough's comprehensive 80 camera scheme and additional cameras in Bacup and Brierfield.

Head of engineering services Dave Wood said: "I think the idea needs to be looked at in detail. We already work with other boroughs and as far as I am concerned it is working very well."

"Obviously when the compulsory competitive tendering ceases and we move on to best value this could well be something that boroughs want to look at." In neighbouring Pendle the controversy surrounding the use of CCTV has been hotly debated in the council chamber for many years with the ruling Liberals against the use of cameras.

But now, there is no overall control on the council and the Labour and Conservative groups have combined forces to ask officers to look into how CCTV can be brought into the borough.

Brierfield Town Council has independent plans of its own for a CCTV system in the town.

Coun Azhar Ali, the leader of the Pendle Labour group said: "We are open to all suggestions and would certainly look at the harmonisation of CCTV systems across East Lancashire as an option A spokesman for Hyndburn Council said: "Given the effective role CCTV has played in reducing crime in Hyndburn, we think this is an interesting suggestion worthy of further investigation."

Coun Malcolm Doherty, the leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council said: "If there is a measure of agreement on this and a way of funding it, it is certainly something that should be looked at."

Under new Government legislation, local authorities have to work with the police and community groups to produce Crime and Disorder Strategies for their areas.

Mr Morris spoke about his idea at the launch of the Ribble Valley Council's strategy.

It is the first East Lancashire authority to publish such a strategy, with Blackburn with Darwen and Hyndburn's expected shortly.

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