MOBILE CCTV cameras are set to be placed in a Ribble Valley town in a bid to tackle theft and anti-social behaviour.

Police have confirmed they intend to use mobile CCTV cameras in Longridge over the coming months. They hope as well as identifying troublemakers, the cameras will also help people feel more safe in and around Berry Lane, the main street in the town.

Councillors, meanwhile, haven't given up on the idea of introducing fixed CCTV in Longridge. Inspector Bob Ford, of Clitheroe Police, said: "There are issues in Berry Lane we want to address and we feel we can do that by placing the mobile CCTV cameras in the town for a while. They will be based around Berry Lane, which is the main shopping street during the day and has several of the main pubs on it or at least close to it.

"We hope they will have the same effect as cameras in Whalley and Clitheroe have had, in that they show up troublemakers quickly and help people feel safer."

Clitheroe was first in the Ribble Valley to get CCTV, followed by Whalley. But cost prevented the scheme being rolled out to Longridge, primarily because the antennae used to beam pictures from Longridge to a control centre in Clitheroe didn't have clear sight of each other.

Residents in Longridge have campaigned for nearly a decade.