A CCTV system installed in Caldicot to fight crime and disorder has suffered minor teething problems, operators say.

However, the cameras are helping to make the town a safer place for people to live, work and visit.

Police and Monmouthshire council officers say crime figures for Caldicot town centre show that in the three months after the launch of the CCTV system, there has been a 37 per cent reduction in crimes committed. They say burglaries have reduced by 80% and criminal damage by 47%.

In addition, police have dealt with drugs offences as a direct result of observations by the monitoring centre staff, who have also directed officers to incidents on numerous occasions.

The evidence from CCTV is now being used in a number of police prosecutions.

The new CCTV system in Caldicot, installed six months ago, had been heavily criticised by local town councillors and traders. They claimed it was no deterrent to crime and disorder.

They said the cameras were not hidden from view and trouble-makers only had to wait until the cameras were pointing in another direction before carrying out a crime.

Images from the cameras were also said to be fuzzy. Mike Jones, the area services off-icer for Severnside, said: "It was always anticipated that leading up to, and after the commissioning of the system, there would be minor teething problems, which have now resolved."

Earlier this month, members of the Caldicot CCTV partnership - which consists of Caldicot town councillors, Caldicot police, representatives from Caerphilly council and Monmouthshire council - held a meeting at the CCTV control centre in Caerphilly.

During the meeting, a number of concerns about the system were raised and discussed.

Mr Jones says the benefits of the CCTV system can be seen with the crime figures produced by Caldicot Police.

He said: "These results show that the CCTV system is making Cald-icot town centre a safer place to live, work and visit.

"The partnership group will continue to monitor the system and the way information is captured to see if improvements can be made."