A FURTHER £15,000 is to be spent on covert CCTV cameras to tackle littering and dog-fouling.

Officers from Hartlepool Borough Council are proposing to buy the cameras after the success of an existing system which is used to monitor areas of the town hit by problems such as fly-tipping, graffiti, dog-fouling, littering and fly-posting.

The intention is to have separate camera systems serving each of the council's three consultative neighbourhood forum areas, in the north, centre and south of the town.

The cameras, some small enough to fit in the palm of the hand and capable of filming at night, cost £15,000 and are able to relay live pictures to a laptop computer.

Craig Thelwell, the council's neighbourhood action manager, said: "We feel these high-tech cameras are the way forward. Not only do they allow us to gather high-quality images that can be used as evidence in court, they also act as a deterrent.

"Would-be fly-tippers, for example, cannot be sure anymore that they aren't being filmed as they go about their illegal activities.

"It currently costs the council about £120,000 a year to remove fly-tipped rubbish, and the one-off cost of the cameras represents good value if they help us to reduce our clean-up costs."

Mr Thelwell is also keen to explore the potential for using the cameras in other council activities.

He said: "We want law-breakers to be in no doubt that we are not prepared to tolerate their behaviour, and the use of these cameras reflects our determination to clamp down on them.

"Hartlepool's image has undergone a massive transformation in recent years. We are now an established tourist destination, and we don't want the activities of a lawless minority to ruin all the good work that has been carried out."