WESTBURY has moved one step closer to installing CCTV in the town centre this week.

At a meeting on Monday, the town council confirmed its commitment to the project.

Optimum, the consultants hired to put in a proposal to the Home Office on behalf of the town council, joined forces with Westbury police to do a survey of the town centre.

They have identified several hot spots and hope to cover those with a system of five cameras.

The cameras will be placed in locations from the car park, through the High Street and into Market Place.

It is hoped the scheme will be linked to the one already up and running in Warminster. This scheme, which has been hailed a success, has been running for about 18 months and has a total of 13 cameras.

Malcolm Brown from Optimum recommended that the council consider making a joint bid with West Wilts Industrial Estate.

The industrial estate has a higher volume of crime than the town centre where, according to the survey carried out by Optimum and the police, fear of crime is more common than actual crimes committed.

Mr Brown said there were 91 reported offences in the town centre last year.

It is hoped that CCTV will be a useful arm in the fight against the fear, as well as the reality, of crime.

Sgt Simon Dicks of Westbury police said: "It is only an arm, but it is a very powerful arm."

The outline bid for government funding has to be made by December 22.