PLANS for a fully monitored CCTV set-up have been given a boost as a district council pledged nearly £40,000 to the project.

Plans for CCTV coverage in Beaconsfield have received a £113,000 grant from the Government, and £30,000 was raised by the Beaconsfield Chamber of Commerce.

An application for a £250,000 Government grant was turned down earlier this year, meaning the scheme had to be scaled down from 16 monitored cameras to eight.

The extra cash, which consists of £30,000 to fund the purchase and installation of the cameras, plus £7,500 per year towards the running costs, means the town will now be able to install 11 cameras.

Each camera costs from £2,500 to £3,000 per year to run, and Adrian Busby, chairman of the Beaconsfield Chamber of Commerce, is considering various means of funding, including asking businesses to sponsor individual cameras.

The chamber is behind the plans for CCTV and Mr Busby welcomed the news.

He said: "The three extra cameras will go in car parks around the town in Warwick Road, in the Penncroft car park and in Altons car park.

"It is all starting to come together. It's a bit like drawing teeth but in the end you get there.

"It's a community-based problem and we are committed to it."

Mr Busby has been in talks with Thames Valley Police and Buckinghamshire County Council in a bid to attract more funding for the scheme.

He added: "I'm very confident we will have a very effective system that will provide a deterrent for criminals and will assist the police in achieving their crime reduction targets.

"I'm confident this will scheme go ahead by the end of the summer."

The scheme has received backing from police in Beaconsfield, and Sergeant Gerry Lister said: "We need the same deterrent that so many other towns in the area have and that is CCTV."