STOPPING teenagers throwing furniture at streetlights and helping to find missing people were just some of the 749 incidents where CCTV cameras helped police in Didcot in the past year.

New figures published by South Oxfordshire District Council have revealed that cameras in Didcot are currently capturing more crimes and helping police with more cases than anywhere else in the district.

In October 2015 to December 2015 alone, town cameras captured 354 incidents – almost four times more than in Thame and 239 more cases than in Wallingford.

CCTV footage was used to help convict Ben Blakeley in 2014 of murdering his teenage girlfriend Jayden Parkinson near Didcot, by capturing him and his younger brother Ben entering and leaving town at Didcot Parkway station on key dates.

Calling CCTV a priority for community safety, Didcot Town Council agreed last month to contribute another £8,500 for the shared district service.

Labour councillor Margaret Davies said the cameras were a priority to fight anti-social behaviour in the town.

She said: "We consider community safety to be very important - people should not be afraid to go out at night to the cinema or to the Broadway.

"We know in the past that antisocial behaviour and vandalism have been a problem, but it is something which has definitely improved over the last few years.

"What people do not realise is that this CCTV is used for evidence packages when cases go to court."

In just October to December last year, police compiled 11 evidence packages for cases from CCTV footage in Didcot.

Mrs Davies added: "What is interesting is seeing what type of incidents are monitored using CCTV throughout the district.

"In Henley, 22 of the closely-monitored incidents were drunkenness, and that’s because they’ve got a few nightclubs there – we don’t have any in Didcot.

"We have a pub which stays open a bit late but that’s it.

"For Didcot, 49 cases were missing persons.

"We do have a lot of missing persons because we always have a lot of elderly people who sometimes do not find their way home."

Fourteen arrests have made in Didcot since April 2015 as a result of police using CCTV footage.

Didcot Town Council also pays 50 per cent of the salary for all Police Community Support Officers in the town and for 2015/16 will contribute £16,864.

But Mrs Davies warned that if police decided to reduce the number of PCSOs in the town, the council might be forced to start paying more.

She said: "Next year Thames Valley Police might reduce the number of PCSOs and we might have to decide whether we can take on paying the full salary every year."

Town council leader Charles Robertson said the cameras helped police not only with investigations but also by acting as a deterrent to potential criminals in Didcot.

He said: "Didcot Town Council remains committed to ensuring that CCTV is available in key locations.

"Residents can be proud of the fact that South Oxfordshire has a low crime rate compared to other similar areas and this is a testament to the good work being carried out by Thames Valley Police.”