UNDER-age crime and drinking in a well-known Lyndhurst trouble spot is to be targeted with the installation of a 24-hour CCTV camera.

Residents have complained of feeling threatened in the town centre's main car park, which is a haven for juvenile drinkers, vandals and car thieves.

A special £27,000 government grant has been provided to pay for the camera, which will monitor activity around the clock. Work on the installation will start early in the new year.

Lyndhurst's New Forest district councillor Pat Wyeth, pictured, is thrilled with the news.

She said: "This will help local residents to feel much safer - many have said they feel threatened as they leave the nearby community centre because of gangs of youths who meet up, drinking and carrying out acts of vandalism.

"Hopefully this camera will deter them from hanging around - and maybe identify the culprits."

The camera will be linked to the New Forest's existing CCTV monitoring network, which already covers the town centres at Totton, Lymington and Ringwood, and has its monitoring base at the district council's Appletree Court headquarters in Lyndhurst.

"The fact that this was less expensive than other schemes, because it involved only one camera and is close to the monitoring equipment, were key considerations," Cllr Wyeth added.

"But the district council is very much aware that other centres would like CCTV and will do what it can to make that happen."

Local beat officer PC Steve Ennew said the scheme should have an immediate impact on drug-taking in the area.

He added: "It will also help with the detection of other crimes, such as car thefts, vandalism and shoplifting."

The district council's crime and disorder portfolio holder, Councillor Jeremy Heron, commented: "We are delighted to see the CCTV scheme expand."

Town centres which have asked for CCTV include Hythe and New Milton.