IPSWICH'S red light area is to have improved CCTV coverage following the killings of five women in and around the town, The Evening Star can reveal today.

IPSWICH'S red light area is to have improved CCTV coverage following the killings of five women in and around the town, The Evening Star can reveal today.

Thousands of pounds have been invested in community safety following the alleged murders of Tania Nicol, 19, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24 and Annette Nicholls, 29, with major investment in closed circuit television.

Suffolk county councillors Andrew Cann and Inga Lockington have allocated £11,000 of their locality budget towards the installation of a mobile camera in Westgate ward while the Home Office has provided funding for cameras in Handford Road.

Jim Manning, community safety officer for Ipswich Borough Council, said mobile cameras had been moved from elsewhere in the town to Handford Road at the height of the police investigation but these were replaced with new cameras on Tuesday.

An additional mobile camera is also to be installed in the Barrack Corner area which will be able to look on to Burlington Road and Portman Road.

Mr Cann said: “The camera will be mobile so it can be used anywhere and is specifically to put extra support in that area.

“People in the area were very nervous and anxious understandably and this follows on from what happened.”

CCTV was already in place in Portman Road and Sir Alf Ramsey Way ahead of the red light killings but no council cameras were in place on Handford Road.

Three cameras are now in place and could be kept in the locations permanently.

Mr Manning said: “One is on the corner of Portman Road and we want to make that site permanent. The other two are near Burlington Road and West End Road. It would also be good to convert these to permanent sites.”

He said the camera mast at Barrack Corner could be fitted with a cluster of cameras to cover the large area adequately.

Mr Manning said the council had already received the money from the Home Office which had followed through with its pledge to support the local authority.

He said the council's costs have included barricades at the courts and crime scenes as well as diversion orders in London Road.

Mr Manning added: “I have got a wish list here and what is on it is a lot higher than the money we have got but we have got to restrict our spending to the money we have.”

Do you think extending CCTV coverage is a good idea? Write to: Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail: eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Weblinks: www.ipswich.gov.uk; www.suffollk.police.uk