A HUGE increase in calls could lead to Darlington's closed-circuit television (CCTV) control centre moving.

An annual inspection report says the town's CCTV control room is reaching saturation point.

Darlington Borough Council is also planning to spend £85,000 upgrading the equipment in the control room.

Last year, 17 independent inspections were made to the call centre, where they reported a "busy but successful" year.

The report said the control room's workload has increased considerably, due to the large number of phone calls handled, the new Warden Link System and the increase in intruder alarm activations.

The number of telephone calls handled has risen from 19,435 in 2002 to 44,693 last year.

The calls handled on the Warden Link System has risen from 78,699 in 2002 to 86,553 last year.

The greatest increase is in the number of intruder alarm activations, which has risen from 1,476 in 2002 to 22,724 last year.

This is due to the centralisation of the system in the control centre and an increase in the number of clients.

As well as recommending a constant review of staffing levels, the inspectors said they hoped, "full consideration will be given to the location of the CCTV facility, as the current room is approaching saturation and could inhibit future expansion, as well as creating a deterioration in working conditions for staff".

The inspectors also said they could see benefits to upgrading the equipment.

The current equipment is now nearly ten years old and approaching the end of its useful operational life.

The council's director of corporate services, Paul Wildsmith, said many manufacturers were now no longer producing analogue equipment, so it was necessary to upgrade to digital.

He said: "The only major risk identified with this scheme is in not doing it.

"Carrying out the works at this point in time will mean that we are ahead of the demise of analogue equipment."

Acting Inspector Penny Taylor, of Darlington police, welcomed any improvements to the CCTV system in Darlington.

She said: "CCTV is a great asset in helping us prevent and detect crime.

"The staff in the centre are really professional and they help us plan where to put our resources."

A council spokesman said it was too early to comment on the matters and the cabinet would debate them on Tuesday evening.