SECURITY camera systems in licensed premises across a North-East town are "so poor as to be useless", it was claimed last night.

The Northern Echo can reveal that all 18 pubs and clubs in Darlington town centre that have closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, record images of such poor quality that clear identification of individuals often cannot be made.

The revelation has raised concerns about security in the town centre, where up to 80 per cent of reported assaults are alcohol-related.

CCTV is often used to record disorder and can be a crucial tool in tracing suspects and securing convictions.

A CCTV worker - who did not want to be named - told The Northern Echo the quality of several cameras in the town was worrying.

"I have a lot of concerns with the quality of CCTV," he said. "Often you struggle to see if the person is male or female.

"If the footage is going to be used to tackle crime and disorder, then there must be high identification quality.

"It must reach certain standards, but it often does not. And if it doesn't, really there's no point in having it.

"Premises across town are now applying for these late licences, but if one of the conditions of a licence is that they have to have a CCTV system, then the quality needs to be looked at. A lot of them don't meet the standards in the first place."

A spokesman for Yates, in the town's Skinnergate, said of their system: "I think it's a good idea to have the system, for the staff's sake as well as the public's, but the picture quality could be improved."

A spokeswoman for Darlington Borough Council said checks on CCTV systems would be carried out after licence variations came into force on November 24.

Superintendent Andy Summerbell, from Durham Police, would not comment on the effectiveness of CCTV in the town's pubs, but said: "Clearly, CCTV footage provides vital evidence to help in the detection of crime and to help establish guilt or innocence. The better the quality of recording, the better the evidence."

Any establishment that needs advice on operating CCTV is asked to contact Darlington crime reduction officer PC Steve Rich on (01325) 346824.