CRIME is plummeting at a York school - with the help of new spy cameras.

Vandals have been deterred by the new CCTV equipment at Millthorpe School

Teachers say the new cameras produce very high-quality digital images, which is now nipping petty crime in the bud.

The number of out-of-hours theft, burglary and smashed window incidents at Millthorpe had meant that it was under the police spotlight before the cameras were installed.

So community officer PC Dave White got together with school staff to see what could be done to tackle the problem.

An upgrade of the existing, aging spy camera set-up was made an urgent priority.

Now, with the new equipment in place, the number of criminal damage cases at the school at night and at weekends has been halved.

PC White said: "The CCTV system previously in place was inadequate as it provided limited coverage and produced very poor quality images."

Now the technology has been hauled into the 21st century and cameras cover all the boundaries at the Nunthorpe Avenue site

Safer York Partnership (SYP) helped drive the camera project.

SYP leader Jane Mowat today said: "It is most encouraging to learn that incidents of criminal damage at the school in the evenings and at weekends, have halved since the installation of the new CCTV."

She said the upgraded cameras were made possible by a Home Office Action Area grant of £5,600.

Millthorpe School head teacher Tony Wootton said he was "delighted" with the new system. He told the Evening Press: "The new CCTV cameras have made the site a lot more secure.

"With fewer problems in the evenings and at weekends we are not distracted from our key aim of providing high-quality education in a safe and secure environment."

Updated: 10:33 Thursday, May 26, 2005