Wandsworth Borough Council has revealed a state-of-the-art mobile CCTV unit which it will use to help combat crime and anti-social behaviour in the borough.

The £50,000 unit will be used by the police for the surveillance of areas where crime levels are high, helping them to gather evidence which could be used in court.

Local police regularly use the council’s network of cameras to help in a range of investigations, sometimes proactively deploying them to help with their enquiries.

According to senior police officers, CCTV evidence from the Council’s camera network is used in around half of the cases that they bring to court.

The new mobile unit is equipped with its own CCTV camera and can also monitor up to four others simultaneously.

It connects with live feeds from any other camera in the borough and is linked by radio to both police response units and to the council’s CCTV and emergency response centre.

The presence of the unit is expected to provide reassurance to local residents that neighbourhoods where there are high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour are being monitored.

The council operates over 1,000 CCTV cameras across the borough of Wandsworth, which are monitored 24/7 by staff in the council’s CCTV control room.