A bird’s eye view of Porthleven could soon be available to all if a plan to install a web camera gets the go ahead.

While web cams are usually associated with computer towers, this plan involves a tower of a very different kind – the Porthleven Institute clock tower to be precise.

Town councillor Barbara Powell has suggested placing the camera at the top of the tower, to give both residents and visitors access to a rarely seen view.

She told her fellow councillors: “The views are fantastic but there’s no way you can let the public up the tower – it’s just far too narrow.”

Mrs Powell said she understood this was not a new idea, but was one that she was keen to see get off the ground.

“I think that would be brilliant,” she said. “People could look online and see what the surf is like, look at the beaches and back into the town.”

She added that she had investigated rough costs and she believed that because web cam views were quite popular it might be possible to sell advertising for the website it would be viewed through.

“In a couple of years we get the money back,” she estimated.

Mrs Powell wondered whether the recently successful bid to the Coastal Communities Fund for close to £100,000, which was announced last week, could provide some of the initial money.

Mayor Mark Berryman agreed that part of the fund was to set up a website, adding: “I imagine this could be part of that.”

He offered to take Mrs Powell’s suggestion to the other board members of the Porthleven Regeneration Community Interest Company, set up to manage the funded projects.

Mrs Powell will now lead a working group to take the web cam scheme forward, with councillors Danny Williams and Harry Pugh also involved.

The group will also be opened up for other councillors not present at the meeting to join.