ORGANISERS of a problem-hit CCTV system in Bromyard have asked councillors to write off a £5,000 loan.

But councillors are worried the eyes of the town will be on them if they cut their losses on the Town Watch system.

Big Brother appears to be turning its back on Bromyard town centre after five years of frustration.

Organisers hoped the budget CCTV system, featuring six cameras linked by the internet, would attract plenty of clients.

But the £10,000 scheme has been fraught with problems and its equipment is now hidden away in the police station.

Bromyard and Winslow Town Council originally gave a £3,000 grant and a £5,000 loan, repayable over 10 years, to Town Watch, a neighbourhood watch-type scheme for shopkeepers.

Finance committee members heard from a co-organiser on Monday that the system had “not quite gone to plan”.

Chris Graham, from Town Watch, said paying membership numbers had not materalised and asked the council to turn the loan into a grant.

Councillors believe they will not see a return but deferred the decision because they were unsure about its legality.

Councillor Roger Page claimed that residents would not welcome the move and urged Town Watch organisers to take responsibility.

He said: “I’m afraid you can’t come back because something didn’t work, saying ‘we owe you £8,000 so can you make it a grant?’”

Councillor Nigel Davis said the system was installed in good faith and blamed its demise on mistakes and misinformation.

He said the system was the cheapest available but a lot of information, namely on broadband quality, wasn’t passed on.

Town Watch wanted traders to subscribe to the system, which was successful when its nerve centre was based in the Honey Pot.

The cameras still remain but the system was mothballed after the shop closed and its hard drive failed.