A town's safety could be compromised by its ageing CCTV equipment.

Newhaven Town Council is currently reviewing its provision of cameras across the town as its contract expires in 2015.

The council works with Sussex Police Authority, which owns and runs the monitoring equipment, as part of the CCTV Partnership, which includes other local authorities such as Brighton and Hove City Council.

But Newhaven’s cameras are “outdated” meaning their effectiveness is likely to be compromised, a report to the Environment and Open Spaces Committee has revealed.

The report revealed spare parts are now obsolete for the old shoe box type camera having been superseded by the new mickey style camera. It means the cameras are likely to become “defunct altogether” once the pool of spare parts the council has runs out.

It is estimated the cost to replace the four cameras the council currently own across the town would be about £16,000 plus VAT.

The council has a reserve of £15,000 for new cameras.

The positioning of the CCTV cameras will also be reviewed after the council admitted there were problems with the current locations of Upper High Street/Meeching Road junction, Lower High Street, Chapel Street and Lower Place car park.

Neighbourhood teams will be providing information on the effectiveness of the cameras’ positions.

The council has also requested more information on the overall effectiveness of CCTV cameras before committing to a new contract.

Sussex Police Authority has acknowledged better data is needed on how effective CCTV cameras are.

Town Mayor Julie Carr said the council owed it to residents to ensure they were using the most up-to-date equipment.

She said: “We review all our assets after a certain period and while |it’s done a good job in the time we’ve had it it’s important we look at it because technology has moved |on since we had the cameras installed.

“We owe it to the people to have the best equipment.

“We do work closely with the police and we’re taking this opportunity to review the camera locations and if we can, improve the coverage.”