It has one of the largest networks of spy cameras in Europe, having grown from 20 cameras in 1996 to 300 today.

The service is growing at the rate of 20 cameras a year and this expansion is expected to continue for at least five years.

Partnership

The council's executive board agreed to spend £973,500 on the cameras in the current year and to enter into a partnership with Metro which also wants to improve its CCTV system.

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The two services will be located on the same site, share fibre optic lines and procure hardware together.

Eventually, unnecessarily duplicated staff and resources will be reduced.

A report to the executive board said the change would require a significant amount of work, but would yield a more consistent response to incidents and a significant improvement in quality of information.

"The technology used to record and share video footage has improved significantly, creating a number of opportunities for the service," it said.

"These included the way images are recorded and stored and developments in systems used to manage and share data."

Deputy council leader Andrew Carter said: "We are all convinced our CCTV programme for combating crime and anti-social behaviour has been successful and has contributed significantly to a great reduction in crime."

He said security costs for businesses could be huge in a time of economic stringency and it was important to help them.