Richmond MP William Hague is to be urged to use his influence to settle the fate of the town's closed-circuit television network.

The town council is concerned that the cameras could be in jeopardy if a decision is not made on their future soon.

North Yorkshire Police have told Richmondshire District Council they are no longer willing to operate the control centre after the end of next year.

An alternative will have to be found by then.

Options suggested so far include the local authority carrying the cost of establishing a new control room, bolting Richmond's surveillance system on to Catterick Garrison's - or scrapping the network altogether.

Richmond Town Council favours the garrison taking charge of monitoring Richmond's streets - although the transfer is expected to cost in the region of £80,000 to £100,000.

However, in the meantime, members are hoping Mr Hague will agree to approach Home Secretary, David Blunkett, to draw his attention to the problem.

Richmond's cameras have been operating for the past three years and were acquired in response to public demand.

"The CCTV system was installed to help the police and breaking that link is a retrograde step," said Councillor John Harris.