New CCTV set for park after fire and vandal attacks

Hope Street bowls pavilion, St Annes following an arson attack

An arson attack last summer at Hope Street Park in St Annes badly damaged the pavilion (pictured). A number of smaller fires have been started in the park in the last 12 months – prompting Fylde Community Safety Partnership to install new cameras.

The Partnership project is funded by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, which is providing £7,500 to buy the cameras.

Bryan Ward, community safety partnership manager, said: “Restoration and improvement work on the pavilion is expected to be complete some time in August – and we’ll put the new cameras in place at that time.

“The park already has one camera but its sweep doesn’t cover the entire park. Vandals have since lit some barbecue-sized fires which can be dangerous and certainly cause an eyesore.”

The existing CCTV camera will remain in use at the park until the new cameras are installed.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s community protection manager Simon Bone added: “The Friends of Hope Street Park have done a fantastic job improving the park in recent years and these cameras will help protect that investment.

“Both new cameras will give clearer pictures than the old camera so any vandals will very likely be caught.”