Ref. 71883-30A CCTV revolution could be about to hit Swindon. Blueprints are being drawn up which would usher in a new era of futuristic surveillance.

Swindon Council is preparing plans for a state-of-the-art CCTV control centre fed by more than 500 cameras across the borough.

The complex which would cost between £1m and £3m would not only help fight crime. Other uses would include monitoring traffic flow, and there would also be the option to provide coverage for private companies, schools and the Great Western Hospital.

New technology could even see live footage of an emergency say a street brawl transmitted to a screen in a police car.

And temporary cameras could be installed in troublespots such as areas which suddenly become haunts for under-age drinkers.

The council operates about 300 cameras but they are run by different council departments.

Coun Brian Ford (Con, Wroughton and Chiseldon), the council's lead member for community safety, said: "Having everything under one roof would be much more efficient.

"Other agencies, such as the hospital and private firms, could also benefit by paying a monthly subscription.Criminals would have nowhere to hide."

Coun Ford, who is heading the council's CCTV task force, denied the scheme heralded the dawn of a Big Brother surveillance culture.

"The benefits far outweigh the downsides," he said. "I would rather have cameras being intrusive on me than have one lady knocked over the head for her handbag."

He admitted the cash-strapped council could not bankroll the centre, and is hoping funding will come from Government grants.

A report into the plans is due before the authority's decision-making cabinet in November.

Sergeant Andy Alexander, who is responsible for town centre policing, sits on the task group. He said more cameras were desperately needed in the Fleet Street area, a hotspot for drink-fuelled violence.

And he added that the new centre would be a great crime-busting asset.

But Barry Hugill, spokesman for human rights lobby group Liberty, said: "In the UK, we have an obsession with CCTV, and have more cameras than any other country.

"It is policing on the cheap and a poor alterative to police patrols."

Tamash Lal