City to test talking CCTV cameras

The system has also been tested in Middlesbrough and Wiltshire

"Talking" CCTV cameras which aim to shame litter louts and troublemakers are to be tested in Gloucester.

Offenders seen by camera operators dropping rubbish or behaving badly will be asked through a loudspeaker to stop.

The council is already getting tough on suspected litter louts by publishing their photos on its website.

Councillor Andy Lewis said: "If you're messing about, then suddenly hear, 'Oi stop doing that'... it's just a reminder you're being filmed."

Chief inspector Roger Clayton added: "We're now talking about a decade of CCTV, people get blasé, they forget they're there.

"What we want to do is raise awareness. We're totally overt, we're not trying to pretend that it's secret filming, we're letting them know that they can be caught through the camera system.

"People don't commit offences if they know they're going to be caught."