Bridgnorth CCTV could be taken on by police or other agency under review

Councillors say the CCTV network is a heavy burden on their budget and question whether the council should lead the scheme when it has no legal responsibility for crime investigation.

However, Councillor Connie Baines reminded them that there had been a serious sexual assault in the town at the weekend.

The issue was raised by Councillor Graham Mountcastle who wants to see how other towns and areas deal with CCTV.

"We have had grants in the past, but it is quite a large burden on the town council.

"Although we have a duty to support people in the town, it seems to be a very useful service to enable the police to not put policemen in Bridgnorth. It is also a useful service for insurance companies.

"I would question whether we can afford to continue to support it," he said.

Members of the council agreed to ask the town clerk to investigate the matter to report back at a later meeting.

However, Councillor Baines said: "I think we have a moral obligation to the people of this town to have a CCTV system in place.

"There was a serious sexual assault and it was extremely helpful. That is just one isolated incident.

"We have a superb system which we have upgraded and we should continue to run it. This is the beginning of the end. It is the nibbling away at things," she said.

A woman in her 50s was raped on Sunday morning in the car park at the back of the Falcon pub in St John's Street.

Police would like anyone with information about the attack to call 101.