ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour in a troubled Teesside community has been reduced by 70 per cent thanks to CCTV cameras.

Residents in Hemlington, Middlesbrough, had campaigned for years to have extra cameras installed in the area.

The cameras were eventually put up last month by Middlesbrough Council as part of a pilot Neighbourhood Management initiative.

The recently-established Neighbourhood Management scheme has involved residents working closely with the council, police and other community agencies to improve life in the area.

If it continues to be a success, the scheme will be adopted across the borough.

A spokesman for Middlesbrough Council said Neighbourhood Management and the local Community Council had joined forces to secure thousands of pounds of funding from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and the Neighbourhood Support Fund for four CCTV cameras.

The spokesman said: "The cameras are now in place and already there has been a significant reduction in anti- social behaviour."

The two main cameras located in residential areas are linked to Middlesbrough Council's main CCTV centre and are manned round-the-clock by the community protection service.

Two more cameras in the Viewley Centre are monitored locally. Both locations are showing a reduction in anti social behaviour.

Mandy Walker, operations manager with the council's community protection service said: "The quality of the CCTV has been such that a range of agencies including the police, enforcement team, street wardens and CCTV team can work together to identify individuals who are involved in anti-social behaviour and take action.

"The cameras played a major part in identifying individuals who had been causing problems in the Dodford and Fordyce areas of Hemlington. The enforcement team were able to interview the perpetrators and issue appropriate warnings.

"Since mid-July, weekly reports of anti-social behaviour in these areas have been reduced by 70 per cent."

Hemlington ward councillor Nicky Walker said: "Hopefully, these cameras will reassure people of all ages and encourage them to use our local facilities with increased confidence and peace of mind."