A committee set up to decide the future of Lowestoft's CCTV system met for the first time today.

Councillors from Lowestoft Town Council explored initial options including applying for funding from central government, closing down the system entirely, and reducing the number of hours it is monitored.

The meeting also revealed that 13 of the council's 42 CCTV cameras are situated at the Waveney Norse depot, in Rotterdam Road, Lowestoft, providing free coverage to the company which the council pay £291,000 to run the service.

The committee also discussed the possibility of asking Waveney Norse, Suffolk Police, and Suffolk County Council amongst others, to pay towards the CCTV service, given many benefit from the CCTV cameras already in place and are, like the town council, funded by council tax.

The rise in drug and violent crime was also noted by councillors as a reason for improving the provision in the town.

However, no action was decided on by the committee, with the next meeting pencilled in for 10am on Thursday, April 26.