Bus shelters are regular targets of vandals

Sixteen shelters in Middlesbrough are being targeted in the pilot scheme - one of only a handful in the country.

Up to eight cameras will be placed in each shelter, in an effort to ease the fear of crime among passengers.

Middlesbrough Council is spending �40,000 on the project, with most of the cash coming from the government's Neighbourhood Renewal Programme.

Brian Glover, Middlesbrough Council's head of transport and design services, said: "There is a perception among bus passengers that shelters can be unsafe places. This is untrue, but we want to try and reduce any concern and fear of crime.

Feeling of security

"Now that technology has moved on these micro-cameras can give the sort of protection we want to offer to the public.

"There will be signs warning people that cameras are in place, but they will not be obtrusive like the traditional image of CCTV cameras."

The shelters being targeted are mainly on residential housing estates which have had particular problems with vandalism and rowdy behaviour.