The towns have two cameras but these would be scrapped and replaced by four digital cameras in each area as part of a £66,450 upgrade.

Rutland Community Safety Partnership is considering the move to improve coverage and the quality of the images captured.

The new system would be more flexible as the cameras could be viewed from different locations. The cameras, which can also be moved, can also recognise number plates.

Will more cameras make yuo feel safer in Rutland? Send your comments to smeditor@stamfordmercury.co.uk

Partnership chairman and Rutland county councillor, Barrie Roper, said: "What this system brings to the community is the very latest technology, a digital system with evidence-based quality results and the ability to perform automatic number plate recognition.

"There is also the flexibility to extend the system to hotspots and if funding allows, it could be extended to the whole of the county.

"This is not a covert system to see who is putting what rubbish in whose bins; this is a community safety feature that will go a long way to making Rutland a safer place to live."

The cost of the upgrade is £66,450 for the cameras and and radio and recording equipment.

Tim Freeman who runs Rutland's only nightclub, Bella's in Oakham said he welcomed any improvement in CCTV coverage.

"They are not a practical deterrent, people get used to them," he said, "but they are useful to the police for prosecutions because they can catch those responsible."

Hugh Crouch, Rutland community co-ordinator for Leicestershire Police, said similar cameras were being used in Derby and the partnership had inspected a working system.

Sgt Helen Lodge, of Oakham police, said: "CCTV is invaluable to us in the detection and prevention of crime. It provides excellent evidence in court."

The partnership has £45,000 for the cameras and would seek grants to make up the difference.

Views are being sought on the scheme and comments will form part of a report to the county council cabinet on August 19.

To comment on the plans visit www.rutland.gov.uk