MP Andrew George, and Cornwall's police and crime commissioner, Tony Hogg, have joined forces to try and address fears about a lack of CCTV after Cornwall Council stopped funding.

The pair have agreed to work in partnership to help communities "maintain and develop CCTV services in towns where they are valued by the public, the local authority and the police" and are looking for bold" solutions to the problem.

Mr George and Mr Hogg recently met to discuss a number of policing issues and Mr George raised the concerns of many of his constituents about maintaining CCTV services and they discussed its effectiveness in support of frontline policing and public protection in town centres.

Cornwall Council has ceased to fund CCTV cameras and the expense has been devolved to Parish and Town Councils which are currently negotiating new contracts. However, there is uncertainty about the future extent of the schemes.

Mr Hogg has agreed to explore the issue with the local authority and the voluntary sector.

Mr George said: “CCTV is a valued and effective tool in policing. We must support our Town Councils in their efforts to continue to maintain the CCTV infrastructure. I can understand why neither the local authority nor the police are particularly keen to take on the sole financial responsibility for guaranteeing a CCTV service and I appreciate that our Parish and Town Councils don’t have the resources to entirely fund this on their own.

"Some local businesses have expressed concern and some have even offered to contribute. And there are some in the voluntary sector who believe that they can offer support as well.

“It is vitally important that an effort is made to seek a partnership solution which ensures the continued viability of the much valued CCTV service in our towns.”

Mr Hogg said: “CCTV can be an effective tool in helping all sections of the community, including local businesses, to make where they live and work safer and more secure.

“All public sector organisations currently face financial challenges at the same time as trying to provide high quality services and keep people safe. I am committed to neighbourhood policing and to keeping police numbers above 3,000 but the public purse is not infinite.

"The funding of CCTV is a significant challenge and I am happy to support any community who can be bold, be innovative and work together to find a solution.

“I want to get the public and private businesses more involved in helping to boost resilience and to stop crime occurring. We all have important roles to play in protecting our communities.”