A MAN jumping across cars, a woman smashing windows at a Burnley pub, and a missing man boarding a train in Nelson were all captured on camera over the festive period by crime busting CCTV camera operators across the Pennine policing area.

Thanks to eagle-eyed operators, several crimes were solved and around a dozen arrests made across Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale over the Christmas and New Year period.

In addition, one missing person was located safe and well and one alleged crime was quashed thanks to CCTV evidence which disproved statements given to the police.

Officers say that the CCTV systems proved invaluable over the festive period, as they do throughout the year.

Burnley Crime Prevention Officer PC Simon Evans said: "CCTV is not only a good deterrent but also a valuable tool for us when crimes do occur.

"CCTV operators frequently alert us to crimes we wouldn't otherwise find out about, monitoring offenders until we get there and relaying information about the location of offenders to us when we do arrive.

"They also observe incidents as they unfold and preserve tapes for us, which are frequently used in court as evidence helping us to secure a significant number of convictions each year.

"Anyone who thinks CCTV doesn't work is very misguided.

"Day in day out the cameras help us in the fight against crime and every week in court, people are fined, or given either community or custodial sentences, as a result of good evidence, some of it provided by our CCTV systems."