Spy cameras on cemetery louts
Mobile spy cameras could be drafted in to deal with yobs who repeatedly target an Oldbury cemetery.
Grieving relatives have complained about the problems at Rood End Cemetery.
They are upset by young yobs playing football in the sacred grounds, as well as ornaments and grave stones being smashed, and general anti-social behaviour.
There have been calls for higher fencing around the perimeter of the site to keep the yobs out.
Council chiefs said today that they were looking to bring in mobile Domehawk CCTV cameras to tackle the problem.
The cameras are pole-mounted and move from area to area.
They will also be speaking to police and the neighbourhood street wardens to help deal with the yobs. Cabinet member for neighbourhoods Councillor Mahboob Hussain said: "We have been asked for higher fencing, but in my opinion that is not acceptable.
"It would be wasting council money, when we should be out dealing with this problem head-on.
"We will be speaking to police and the council street wardens to keep an eye on the situation. We will also be looking into the Domehawk cameras to see if we can catch these people on camera.
"Doing it this way, we can catch them in the act and prosecute them."
Visitors to the cemetery have launched a petition calling for the height of the fencing to be raised to at least 6ft. It currently stands around 4ft including a brick wall.
Campaigners say the yobs can simply jump over the wall and have been spotted playing football in the grounds of the cemetery and using it as a short cut.
Two years ago a 300-name petition was handed in to the council calling for a clean-up and general maintenance work at the site.
The council argues it has already spent £30,000 on improving the cemetery including a tidy-up and painting gates and railings.
A petition has also been launched to help mount pressure on the council to improve security at the troubled site. Sally Scarlett, who visits the cemetery regularly to tend to the graves of 10 members of her family, said: "We have to make sure that the cemetery is secure and safe for people to visit.
"It is not the happiest of occasions to be visiting loved ones at the cemetery, but we should not have to put up with some of the problems we have been experiencing."
Domehawks have been drafted in across Oldbury to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour.
They have been brought into Brandhall Golf Course, the Cakemore estate and Barnford Park in response to complaints – especially gangs of yobs.
Police and council officials say the cameras are an effective weapon in the war on yobs, and more are being drafted in all the time.
