SECURITY cameras are to be installed at Bartley Park, Totton's controversial new leisure facility, after demands for extra safety cover.

A spate of injuries this summer at the popular adventure centre - plus sporadic incidents of vandalism - have led councillors and residents to call for more supervision.

A £29,000 CCTV system will now be added to the battery of security measures already in place at Bartley Park - which include a full-time warden and regular checks from youth workers and police.

Bartley Park, a converted sewage works, opened in April at a cost of £700,000 and provides facilities for skateboarding, roller-hockey, basketball and five-a-side football.

Residents opposed the scheme, fearing it would attract troublemakers and extra traffic.

And in July, Hampshire Ambulance Service confirmed minor accidents were happening at Bartley Park at least once a week.

Phillip Pearce-Smith, spokesman for the League of Venturers who provided safety cover on the day Bartley Park opened, said: "I had serious misgivings from the safety point of view.

"An accident could occur when the warden was off duty. This sort of facility should be supervised all the time," he said.

Park managers Totton and Eling Town Council asked New Forest district to allow CCTV funding to deal with "vandalism by a small minority, and speed up response to accidents."

And at a meeting of the district leisure services committee, councillors agreed to allocate £29,000 from developers' contributions to pay for cameras.

They heard the new park is used by teenagers for more than 90 hours a week, and youngsters have been involved in discussions on installing CCTV. Activity will be monitored at nearby West Totton Community Centre.

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