NEWS that Bromsgrove's CCTV cameras are spotting more wrongdoers, which led to 25 arrests in December alone, is not much comfort to Conservatives in the town.

A large window in the Tory association's office in Worcester Road has been smashed for the fifth time - despite a camera being positioned just a few feet away on the side of the building.

The latest incident happened last Wednesday between 5.15 and 8.30pm and, at £1,000 a time to repair the damage, party officials are concerned.

Despondent association chairman Tessa Gillespie said she was unable to comment on the incident, but she plans to pay the police a visit this week to see if the CCTV tapes have been checked.

Last week we carried a story on our front page trumpeting the spy cameras' successes in Bromsgrove.

However, Tory district councillor June Griffiths (Alvechurch), cabinet member responsible for community services and culture, said: "CCTV is driving down crime, but the cameras cannot be trained on everything at the same time and sometimes things are missed."

Sergeant Dougie Gray, from Bromsgrove police, said: "PC Simon Jenkins, the local beat manager, is aware of this incident and has already attended the premises to get the full details of what has happened.

"As part of his investigation, he has liaised with the town centre CCTV control room and has requested the relevant tapes so that these can be studied with a view to identifying the offenders. We take all such incidents very seriously and would urge anyone with information about this matter to give us a call.

"Criminal damage of this nature cannot be tolerated and we want both parents and their children to be aware that we will not hesitate to take action against anyone caught acting in this anti-social way."