A GROUP of Chipping Sodbury traders are taking steps to protect their shops after a loss in confidence in the town's surveillance system.

Lesley Wood, owner of ladies' fashion shop Lesanne, said she and other nearby shop owners had become so frustrated with the lack of working evidence of the town's security cameras that they were looking at installing their own.

The Gazette recently reported how Mrs Wood had asked the town council to take down a prominently placed security camera outside her shop.

She said: "As initial contributors toward the town's security system, we have in recent years begun to find ourselves outside involvement of the working group.

"We were not consulted on the system's operations and never shown any clear evidence of it operating successfully in protecting our shops."

Their concerns were sparked by a garlic spray attack on Country Properties, Total Look Hairdressers and a business below Shabby Chic in May.

The chemical was so strong the owners of the premises were forced to spend thousands of pounds on treating the carpets, floorboards and even walls to expel the smell.

The incident caused uproar among business owners when it was found out that CCTV cameras did not catch anything of the attack.

Mrs Wood added: "There were many incidents, too many to list, which went unseen in the town centre. It had become increasingly frustrating for us all.

"The garlic spray was the last straw. It proved as damaging as arson, the victims being subjected to lengthy and very costly industrial cleaning operations, yet there were no CCTV pictures covering the incident.

"As a group of businesses we need a security system we can wholeheartedly trust."

Mrs Wood confirmed that she and the owners of four shops and offices at the bottom of Broad Street and Horse Street were investigating their own security systems.

Town councillor Paul Whittle, of Sodbury Town Council's CCTV working group, said: "It was a general opinion amongst some people that the cameras were not working but in fact they have been working all along.

"We have also recently spent £35,000 on upgrading and improving the system. Everybody else seems happy with it and we have had no other complaints.

"We've had numerous successes with the system and the police do ask us for footage to help them.

"The reason why we can not allow the business to get involved in the working group is because of data protection."

The CCTV camera taken down from Lesanne was due to be installed on another shop front in Broad Street this week.