TAKE AWAY alley, one of the hot spots for late night trouble in Lower Queen Street, Newton Abbot, will soon be covered by the watchful eye of a cctv camera.

Police Inspector Andy Dower said £5,000 is being spent on a new camera from money available out of this year's police budget.

He told Wednesday's meeting of Newton Abbot Town Council that there was a bid going in for a further £15,000 for next year on the cctv front.

'We are looking to install a camera in a higher area of Queen Street and then later in the year near the war memorial to look into The Avenue as well as Queen Street,' he said.

Insp Dower also revealed that the cctv monitoring facility would be leaving the police station and he had been in negotiation with Teignbridge Council for a building that is becoming available in the town.

'We hope some of the £15,000, if the bid is successful, will be made available for that and it will enable it to link in with towns in the neighbouring area with cctv coverage,' he said.

There was also other good news for the town. It will soon be getting community wardens – Teignbridge Council already has two whose presence in Teignmouth and Dawlish has won high praise.

Meanwhile, the number of crimes within the Newton Abbot police section between November and January dropped by 35 on the corresponding period 12 months ago, from 929 to 894.

The number of robberies and violent crimes had reduced significantly, common and minor assaults had risen, while house burglaries and other burglaries in the town had fallen.

The theft of and from vehicles was also slightly down.

While crimes in the three months period were down, they were up by 320 from April 2003 to the end of January.

Insp Dower said a particular concern for the police was the lack of security involved, particularly in house burglaries and vehicle crimes.

'Almost 40 per cent of house burglaries were through insecure windows or doors, while vehicle crime is in the region of 30 per cent.

'People can go a long way to reduce the problems by taking care of their property and making sure it is locked and secure,' he added.

l Police should pay for wardens, see page 3