CCTV plea for Lanark

A young Lanarkian raised the question this week following an assault on him in broad daylight in the middle of Lanark.

Mark Baird (21) was threatened and pushed violently to the ground by a group of young thugs in Wide Close.

Mark, who instantly reported the matter to the police, said: "They told me to forget about it because there were no witnesses.

"I think the whole of that close — and the rest of the town centre — should be covered by CCTV cameras.

"I wrote to South Lanarkshire Council to ask why we didn't have a security camera system in Lanark.

"I received a reply stating that Hamilton, Rutherglen and East Kilbride town centres all had CCTV systems which worked well but there are no plans to put it into Lanark. Why not?"

The council's CCTV development advisor Ian Porteous said: "These three systems were installed in the mid-1990s by local Community Trusts. The council took over the responsibility for their management in 2004.

"The benefits of public space CCTV in supporting the delivery of community safety are recognised by the council but there are no plans to extend the fixed camera system to other areas.

"The council is, however, exploring the use of re-deployable CCTV technology which can be moved to tackle issues in areas where no fixed CCTV exists."

For more information on this story, pick up a copy of this week's Lanark Gazette which is in the shops now.