RED Lion Yard in Okehampton may have to install CCTV cameras or be gated off at night its manager warned, after the latest incident of vandalism where a decorative metal trough in the courtyard area was damaged.
Nigel Bishop, manager of Red Lion Yard said the latest act of vandalism took place between 1-2am last Thursday.
Three large wheels were pulled down from the flower trough in the yard. Guttering pipe was also ripped down during the night, for the fourth or fifth time this year, Mr Bishop said.
?We have talked about putting in CCTV or gating it off in the evening. We don?t want to block it off as a no-go area, but if it continues, we are going to have to do it,? said Mr Bishop.
Mr Bishop said he liked to think of Red Lion Yard as a ?sort of village green? for the people of Okehampton, and the vandalism which took place there was ?detrimental to the town?.
Mr Bishop said work had been carried out earlier in the year to make the covered area of the yard lighter and more attractive, but this was set back when vandals struck.
The metal troughs were donated to Red Lion Yard by the Okehampton Chamber of Trade eight years ago.
Okehampton Police said a resident who had witnessed the vandals causing the damage said they were ?very noisy?. Police believe other people may have witnessed the vandalism and ask that they come forward and contact Okehampton Police on 08705 777444 quoting crime reference number JO/03/467.
The problem of vandalism in the town centre was also on the agenda for Okehampton Town Council at its policy and resources committee meeting on Monday.
Town clerk Don Bent reported to councillors on discussions held with the police and the West Devon Community Safety Forum on the possibility of CCTV being used in the town.
However, he said because police statistics showed Okehampton had a low crime rate compared with other parts of the force area, obtaining funding for such cameras was a major issue.
West Devon?s crime reduction officer WPC Angie Frost said police were carrying out an analysis of the crimes which had taken place in the centre of the town over a three-year period, to assess whether a CCTV system was likely to be effective and cost efficient.
WPC Frost said a high quality CCTV system was needed if the images captured were to be sufficiently clear to be used in court to secure convictions.
As crime reduction officer for the borough she said she was able to survey premises in the town centre and offer advice to businesses on how to reduce the risk of crime and vandalism.