Shopkeepers call for CCTV in Wombourne after burglaries

Yvonne Walters, who keeps The Travel Bureau in High Street, Wombourne, blamed the removal of closed-circuit television cameras for the break-in at her shop in January.

The neighbouring Wombourne Tandoori restaurant had also been targeted, said Mrs Walters, while Fishface Cycles in Walkers Way was hit by a £35,000 raid in October last year.

Mrs Walters said she had been told by police that the CCTV cameras in the main car park in Wombourne had been turned off as there was no-one to man them.

"As traders we now feel the only option available to us is to install our own security cameras," she said.

"Had the CCTV cameras been working there is no doubt at all that the police would have been able to recognize the number plate on the vehicle in question."

Mrs Walters said she had written to Wombourne Parish Council asking why the cameras had been turned off, but received no reply.

She said she also wrote to South Staffordshire Council, but the authority declined to confirm or deny whether the cameras were working.

"We feel that all businesses in Wombourne, as well as the residents, have a right to know that these cameras do not work that there is no police protection and that the nearest Police response vehicle is in Cannock," she said, adding that her shop had been in the village for 36 years.

A spokeswoman for South Staffordshire Council said in 2017 the authority introduced a system of mobile CCTV cameras to help detect and prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.

"This replaced the fixed camera provision, which was not for fit for purpose due to its age and technological advances," she said.

"The present system of mobile CCTV system offers both operational and economic benefits and it means that cameras can be moved to crime hotspots, targeting areas that are causing a particular problem whilst retaining the ability to be redeployed on an ‘as and when’ basis.

"The position of the cameras is reviewed on a regular basis in partnership with the police and as they are mobile they can be moved to other locations in response to changing crime patterns, for maximum effect on crime reduction throughout the district."

Chief Inspector Simon O’Donnell, commander of South Staffordshire neighbourhood policing team, said he was aware of the burglaries, and said a number of lines of inquiry were pursued.

“We continue to work to bring those responsible to justice," he said.

“Commercial burglaries across South Staffordshire are down approximately 42 per cent in a 12-month period, and we’re deploying extra patrols throughout South Staffordshire, including officers from the roads policing unit and Central Motorway Police Group."

Anyone with information on the burglaries or any other crime in the area urged to call police on 101.

Rachael Wright, clerk to Wombourne Parish Council, said no correspondence had been received from Mrs Walters.

"Any correspondence received would have been quickly acknowledged and dealt with appropriately," she said.