POLITICIANS in Newtown have given their blessing to a campaign to bring CCTV back into use in the town.

Earlier this month, Newtown resembled a town in the Wild West, following a spate of attacks over a weekend which left teenager Danny Foulkes in hospital.

His parents, Duncan and Jacci Foulkes, started the online petition to have CCTV reinstated and more police officers to deal with violence and drug related crime in Newtown.

They were boosted by unanimous support from Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council on Monday night.

Mr Foulkes told the council that an online petition supporting the campaign had been signed by 2,300 people in 24 hours, which demonstrated the strength of public feeling on the issue.

He also said that Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Commissioner, Dafydd Llywelyn, had pledged to spend £2 million on installing high definition CCTV cameras in 14 towns which includes Newtown.

Mr Llywelyn is now due to meet with the town council next month when more information on the CCTV will be shared.

Mr Foulkes asked the town council to write to Mr Llywelyn calling for CCTV to be reinstated and for extra resources to be made available for more police officers in Newtown.

Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Mayor, Cllr Sue Newham, thanked Mr and Mrs Foulkes for attending the meeting and expressed sadness about the brutal attack on their son and other incidents in the town.

She encouraged members to sign the online petition, now that the issue had been discussed by the council.

Mr Foulkes said: “We have found that we are pushing at an open door with this campaign, as everyone we have spoken to has been supportive.”

“The law abiding people of Newtown have made it clear by signing the petition and with their messages of support that they want action to improve public safety in the town, particularly at night.

“There is still some way to go before we achieve the campaign’s goals and would appeal to Newtown people to remain united.”

Cllr Joy Jones said it was important that the town had new CCTV cameras and welcomed news that Mr Llywelyn was making Newtown a priority.

Cllr Jones told The County Times that she would be discussing the matter with the commissioner this week: “We want to see proper frontline police patrolling the town, and not just as a reaction a day or two after incidents.

“There’s been a great feeling of anxiety here, people are waiting for the next problem.”

Dyfed Powys Police said that they had made eight arrests in relation to three assaults carried out in the town on October 8.

The people concerned had all been released on bail with strict conditions and curfews in place preventing them from visiting certain areas.

Police have carried out multiple stop searches and implemented one dispersal order, which moves people away from a designated area for up to 48 hours.

If they return before that time is up they face prosecution.