CLOSED-CIRCUIT television cameras are to be positioned in parks and cemeteries in Darlington to try to reduce vandalism and theft.
Darlington Borough Council is spending £100,000 on the scheme, which will position five CCTV cameras in Eastbourne Park, South Park and North Cemetery.
If the introduction of the cameras results in a reduction in crime in the parks, the authority will consider extending the scheme to other areas, including West Cemetery where there have been thefts.
One woman, whose sister's grave in West Cemetery was robbed of plants and cards, said: "What I would like to know is what sort of people can rob someone's grave with no thought to the people who care for her grave or her family?"
A Darlington council spokesman said West Cemetery was not one of the main areas in the town to suffer from vandalism and theft.
He said: "We have had to prioritise where the new resources are put.
"If these cameras work we will look at putting them in other areas of the town."
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