TRADERS are stepping up their campaign for security cameras after a spate of break-ins on the Waterside.

Shopkeepers in Hythe want their businesses to have the same level of protection as other towns in the New Forest, where CCTV equipment was installed two years ago.

Victims of the recent crime wave include Carol Pass, whose gift shop was burgled earlier this month.

She said: "I don't think a weekend has gone by without at least one shop in the village having a window smashed.

"Kids start gathering in the shopping centre on Friday evening and run riot in the village all weekend.

"There's been a whole spate of broken windows in the past two months - it's just crazy.

"The police do their utmost but there aren't enough of them and they can't be everywhere all the time.

"We need two or three cameras covering the village centre. People committing crimes would be seen and the police would know who was doing what."

Other victims include gents' outfitter Geoffrey Gook, who had a burglary in which thieves made off with goods worth £4,000.

He said: "CCTV in and around the hot spots would be a tremendous help. Rates are going up all the time and it would be nice to get something back."

CCTV has been installed in Lymington, Totton and Ringwood, but Hythe and New Milton have been excluded from the scheme.

Hythe county councillor Brian Dash said: "The decision to put CCTV in Lymington was a bad one that was never justified by the statistics.

"It should never have gone to Lymington - Hythe has always had the greater need."

Nik Nikandrou, chairman of Hythe business Partnership, said: "It's unfair that some towns in the New Forest have the cameras and some don't."

A district council spokesman said the authority sought government funding for CCTV at Hythe, Lymington, New Milton, Ringwood and Totton but the Hythe and New Milton bids had been unsuccessful.

However, crime-busting cameras could eventually be installed in the two towns. Insp Mick Buckle of Hythe police said high-visibility patrols and other methods were being used to tackle vandalism in the parish.

He added: "Criminal damage is a big problem that's not restricted to the village centre. I recognise the benefits of CCTV, but it would focus on only part of the area of concern. It's not the only answer."