Nobody is monitoring CCTV that cost taxpayers' £20,000 according to an ex-town mayor.

More than £20,000 has been spent “for nothing” on CCTV in Lydd, according to the town’s former Mayor, Graham Snell, whose administration pioneered the system.

He told a town council meeting: “The thing that really gets up my nose is that it cost more than £20,000 for this equipment and it's not monitored by Kent Police or anybody.

“At weekends and evenings outside the kebab shop nobody is monitoring and people don’t feel good about walking there with all those kids on pushbikes.

“We’ve spent more than £20,000 for nothing" - Graham Snell

“We’ve spent more than £20,000 for nothing.

“We are now talking about putting one at Vine Lands. What a waste of money. Where is it going to look?”

Mr Snell’s administration had launched the project in 2011/12 when Lydd was suffering from a rash of crime and anti-social behaviour.

But a report to the meeting by town PCSO Michael Robinson said that crime was now at a low level.

He said that anti-social behaviour incidents last month were down to a handful of cases, which he said were being dealt with “quite efficiently”, and offences in the town also remained low.

Mr Snell was Mayor from 2011 to 2013, the year he left the council.

He spoke after Philip Roots, of New Romney CCTV installation camera company Show Connections, gave a presentation of proposed new camera sites.

One option was Vine Lands and the High Street junction.

But Mr Snell believed that was pointless because Vine Lands has a low level of crime and that camera would not scan far enough down the High Street, where it would be particularly needed.

Another option was a camera at the swing park at The Rype.

At the meeting Cllr Michael Walsh suggested that it was better to have a camera for the Banks sports ground area as it has suffered from problems such as flytipping.