CLOSED CIRCUIT television cameras go live in Kidderminster today to give police almost total coverage of the town centre 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Seven cameras will be monitored around the clock to catch shoplifters and drunken yobs who cause trouble when the town's pubs and clubs close their doors.

Police said the cameras would prove "invaluable" in the fight against crime as every second of every camera is recorded on to videotape and kept for 31 days, if required as evidence.

Officers will be told of any incidents from a monitoring station in Bromsgrove. The operators will also keep in touch with the Swan shopping centre, which has its own internal CCTV system, to keep an eye out for suspicious characters.

Pictures from the new £155,000 scheme are delivered in full colour and in pristine quality and the operator can turn the devices a full 360 degrees and zoom in to easily identify a suspect's face.

This was just the beginning of camera coverage in the district, said Councillor Nathan Desmond, of Wyre Forest District Council, which helped pay for the scheme that has been on the cards since 2003.

The council was looking to add five more cameras in Kidderminster and start up similar schemes in Stourport and Bewdley within the next 12 months, he said.

Mr Desmond, the cabinet member for community and leisure services, explained: "The council was determined to get a CCTV system for Kidderminster and we are delighted to see it up and running.

"We are very keen to take the benefit that Kidderminster will certainly enjoy to Stourport and Bewdley. They have the same problems with petty theft and the same problems with anti-social behaviour."

Chief Inspector for Wyre Forest at West Mercia Constabulary, Dave Jones, said: "We welcome the new CCTV system that has been set up in Kidderminster and look forward to reaping its rewards."

Across North Worcestershire town centres, CCTV already operates in both Redditch and Bromsgrove and has proved "invaluable" in fighting crime and acting as a deterrent, he said.

He went on: "The cameras can also reassure law-abiding members of the public who simply want to go about their daily business."