MILFORD Haven Town Council has voted to suspend paying to maintain the town's five CCTV cameras, while it looks into how effective it is in cutting crime.

At a meeting on Monday (January 20) to set its budget for the year ahead, councillors debated whether it made sense to continue spending more than £5,000 a year on CCTV technology that was 'out of date'.

Last year, Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Christopher Salmon announced a review into publicly funded CCTV, claiming that coverage across the region 'varied in its effectiveness'.

But Cllr Tony Eden questioned Mr Salmon's comments, saying the cameras made people feel more secure, and were 'invaluable' to local officers.

Cllr Rhys Sinnett argued that CCTV's value was 'only as good as the technology that as in place', and an upgrade had been needed for years.

Councillors also voted in favour of a controversial 20 per cent increase in cemetery fees.

Cllr Guy Woodham, who proposed the rise, said the council was losing every year through maintenance of the site.

He said figures had been kept ‘artificially low’, and although it sounded a lot, this only equated to an increase of around £70 for those who used the cemetery.

But Cllr Tony Eden said local people were already struggling to meet funeral costs, and called the proposal a ‘surcharge on the bereaved’.

A suggestion to pay £7,500 to the county council to maintain the town’s current library hours, which are due to be cut, was unsupported.

Overall, people in Milford Haven will pay around 3 per cent less towards the running costs of the town during the next year, following the precept meeting.

The new rate means a band D property in the town will pay £32.30 to the town council as part of its annual council tax bill, a reduction of 97p from last year, taking the council’s annual income to £158,605.

As part of its spending, the council has committed to giving £7,000 to Milford Haven Musuem, £8,000 to the Torch Theatre, and almost £2,000 towards keeping the toilets on the Rath open.