A FATAL crash in Brynmawr could have been picked up by CCTV if a potential upgrade had been agreed earlier, it has been claimed.

Pedestrian Sheila Skuse, a great-grandmother from Brynmawr, died after being hit by a car in Market Square on June 24.

Her family described her as a “warm and welcoming lady with a ready smile for everyone.”

At a meeting of Blaenau Gwent’s corporate overview scrutiny committee earlier this week, Cllr Lyn Elias (Independent, Brynmawr) called for urgency to upgrade CCTV cameras across the borough.

Cllr Elias said in the last two weeks there had been “dozens of people involved in brawls” in the town centre.

He said: “I am concerned about what is happening in the town centre.

“For the last two weeks on Saturday nights the police have been involved in responding to trouble involving fighting issues outside certain establishments.

He added: “We have had an elderly lady knocked down which could have been picked up by a camera.”

Speaking afterwards, Cllr Elias said cameras are located which could have picked up the fatal crash but he said they have not worked for nearly two years.

“We have been waiting too long for it,” he added.

Blaenau Gwent council officers have met with Gwent Police to discuss the options being evaluated.

These include an upgrade, repairing existing equipment and ending the service altogether.

A Blaenau Gwent spokesman said: “The provision of town centre CCTV is a non-statutory service. An alternative service delivery model for CCTV was agreed by council as part of the budget setting process in early 2014 with the monitoring of images being out-sourced to Newport City Council following a competitive tender process.

“A review of the service with a number of options for the future delivery of town centre CCTV will be presented to members for a decision later this year.

“These include an upgrade, reductions in service and ending the service altogether.

“A full evaluation of each option including discussions with key stakeholders including the police has been undertaken to inform the review.

“CCTV is a valuable tool to support community safety, crime prevention and detection.

“However, there are other mechanisms in place, including working closely with our police partners and community engagement to deal with community safety issues in addition to a CCTV service and Blaenau Gwent actively uses these.”

In relation to the fatal crash on Brynmawr Square a 29-year-old man from Brynmawr was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving but has since been released under investigation.

Police are particularly interested to hear from motorists with dashboard mounted cameras, who were in the area at the time of the incident or residents and business owners with CCTV cameras in and around the area.

Call 101, quoting log 309 of 24/06/18 with information.