CCTV cameras could be put up in Forest Fields to cut theft and littering, following a three-year wait by residents.

Stella Hopkins is chairwoman of charity shop 'Link-Up Community Shop' at the corner of Burford Road and Berridge Road in Forest Fields and said she hopes the cameras will make people feel safer as well as cut down crime.

She said: "Litter here is terrible. I have never seen anything like Forest Fields. I feel sorry for the lads cleaning the streets.

"We have a lot of people drinking on the streets and they just leave the bottles.

"I think the cameras will make people feel safer too. There are a lot of elderly people.

"We have had muggings, we have had a lot of people stealing.

"People knowing they are being watched has to be a deterrent."

Hundreds of people signed a petition, started by Stella three years ago, asking for CCTV cameras. But they were turned down due to lack of funding.

Now cash has been found, mainly from Nottingham City Council, for three 20ft camera masts. The re-deployable cameras can be moved between locations.

Residents will be asked to vote on the proposals, which will go ahead if the majority of households in the area want to have the CCTV cameras.

Maureen Breslin, who is treasurer at the shop, said she has found smashed bottles outside her home.

"The cameras will be absolutely brilliant," said the 70-year-old of Stanley Road.

"Some of the shops along here get gangs of young people about too, they also get in the garden at our shop and there are always spirit bottles and lager cans left.

"It is a dreadful area to live in for the dirtiness.

"People just drop stuff on the floor.

"You go down the street in the morning and it is littered with glass bottles.

"The cameras are excellent news. "

Maureen said she also hopes the cameras will stop people speeding. "It is meant to be a 20mph zone now, but often you would not think so," she said. "It is very dangerous."

The masts are being proposed at the corner of Berridge Road and Burford Road, opposite 'Linked in'; at the junction of Berridge Road with Leslie Road; and at the junction of Gladstone Street and Foxhall Road.

Beat manager for the area, Mark Tindall said: "I personally think this is one of the best things to happen in Forest Fields.

"The cameras are proposed for the main arterial routes in and out of here so if something is going off in the estate the cameras should be able to pick them up.

"In Gladstone Street we have had quite a few issues. Quite a while ago someone was shot at and we have had a few robberies.

"We have had gangs of youths gathering that intimidate people or even late at night when people go to the mosque. So I'm hoping really that the cameras will provide public reassurance."

A presentation about the CCTV cameras will be held from 6.30pm until 8pm on April 23 on Djanogoly City Academy in Gregory Boulevard.

People will also be given leaflets about the proposals and every household will be given the chance to vote.

claire.carter@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk