CAMERAS are to be installed on buses in a North-East town to combat a spate of vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Officers from Hartlepool Borough Council have ordered the move on the 505/555 service after vowing to get tough with troublemakers targeting the route.

About £2,500 is being spent on installing cameras on both the outside and inside of buses with the aim of using their high-resolution pictures as evidence in court.

The bus service, which is provided by Compass Royston and supported by the council with money awarded through the Government's Urban Bus Challenge, has been temporarily suspended on two occasions during the past year following a series of incidents.

A driver suffered cuts when a brick was thrown through a window and on another occasion a passenger was injured after a driver had to brake heavily when youths deliberately jumped in front of a bus.

Nick Clennett, the council's highways and transportation manager, said: "These cameras have been used successfully elsewhere but never before in Hartlepool.

"We have decided to introduce them on this route because it is a regular target for vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

"We feel people should be able to travel in confidence, not fearing where the next brick is going to come from.

"This service provides many people with an important link to the hospital. The last thing they need or deserve is to be subjected to attack by a mindless minority who seem intent on causing trouble."

Mr Clennet added that the cameras will be monitored with the view of introducing them on other routes in the town.

Ray King, Compass Royston general manager, said: "The introduction of cameras, supported by Hartlepool council, is welcomed by our drivers and also, we hope, by our genuine passengers on this important service."

The 505/555 service runs between the Headland, Hart Station and the University Hospital of Hartlepool.