8:08am Monday 25th February 2008
By Sam Greenway
RESIDENTS who live next to a CCTV blind spot are calling for cameras to be installed after a car was set on fire in the area.
Bromsgrove firefighters were called out to a burning white Hyundai, at the bottom of Hill Lane, next to an alley running to Worcester Road, at around 9pm on February 18.
They extinguished the fire, using foam, and made the car safe.
The car's owner, Mark Edwards, who lives in Crossley Walk, Charford, said the vehicle had been involved in a crash in January and was parked temporarily in the area.
He believes a gang of around 20 youths had been watching the car and smashed the back window, petrol bombing it.
Mr Edwards said: "The area is a known hotspot. Teenagers hang round the alley."
He called for CCTV cameras, which cover Worcester Road, to be extended along the alleyway where the teenagers congregate.
A resident of Hill Road supported the proposal saying that the area was "dreadful" for noise after youngsters had left town pubs and the nightclub.
She added: "I have asked for them (CCTV cameras) to be introduced at PACT meetings. You don't mind, but when they are making noise at 2am and wake you up, it's no fun. They are hanging around because cameras see them in town, but not here."
Another resident commented: "We have had to go out and talk to the youngsters a couple of times and they have stopped chucking things when asked. In a way I sympathise with them as they have nothing to do."
A spokesman for Bromsgrove police said the CCTV cameras covered the entrance to the alleyway, but "unfortunately" not the area the car was burnt in. She added: "CCTV is designed to cover main areas. They can be introduced, depending on how much there is a need for it."
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