8:05am Wednesday 1st September 2010
A SHOP owner whose shoe store was broken into has criticised Basildon Council for not putting up replacement lamp posts and CCTV cameras which she believes could have prevented the crime.
More than £3,000 was stolen from Gimme Shooz, in Billericay High Street, during a burglary.
However, police investigating the break-in had no CCTV footage to help them catch the criminals because, weeks before, the council had taken down four lamp posts which held cameras.
The posts were removed after an inspection found them to be unsafe.
Two columns owned by Essex County Council were also deemed unsafe and were taken down, but these have already been replaced.
However, Basildon Council is yet to be replace its four columns and cameras.
But shop owner, Alison Curl, says this is too late.
Mrs Curl said: “They smashed the shop window, stole our safe and then carried it up the High Street to Sun Corner before smashing it open with a manhole cover.
“They managed to do that without being caught on any cameras. It’s ridiculous.”
She added: “Maybe if the cameras had been there, this wouldn't have happened.”
Three of the lamp posts taken down by the council were in the High Street, near Somerfields, Iceland and the war memorial.
The fourth is in Alma Link, near Waitrose car park.
Trevor Draper, chairman of the Billericay Chamber of Commerce, said: “I welcome anything that can be done to get the cameras back as quickly as possible and make the High Street as secure as possible.”
Brian Boyce, manager of enforcement and technical services at Basildon Council, said: “The four lamp posts will be replaced in the next couple of weeks together with the CCTV cameras that were attached to the original lamp posts.”
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