RESIDENTS angry at plans to charge them for CCTV cameras are gathering names for a petition to protest against the move.

Tenants on the crime-plagued Hall i' th' Wood estate will hand the petition to Bolton North East MP David Crausby, saying they should not have to pay for the scheme.

Council housing officers are proposing to charge them £143 a year for the 15 cameras that keep the area under 24-hour surveillance. The scheme will not be approved until a consultation between council officers and residents reaches a positive conclusion.

Rita Lilley, chairman of the Hall 'i th' Wood Residents Association, said many members intend to refuse to pay.

She said: "There's a strong feeling that people do not want to be handed this charge. They believe the cameras are necessary, but they don't want to be forced to pay for them. Many can't afford it."

Residents in St George's Court are being consulted on paying a similar charge, and it is believed the scheme may be extended to other crime-hit estates.

Hall i' th' Wood has long been blighted by vandalism, drugs, burglary, theft and car crime, and residents asked for cameras to be installed. Bolton Council got a £230,000 Government grant to fund a CCTV scheme, but it was not enough to pay for the staff who monitor the control room.

A charge of £2.75 per week per household has been suggested to help fund the shortfall. Housing officers say the proposed charge is being subsidised since the actual cost of manning the scheme would be £8 per week. Some tenants on certain benefits may not have to pay the fee at all. The charges would, if accepted, come into effect from January 1 and would be frozen until April 1, 2004.

MP David Crausby has already expressed concern at a charge for people who suffer the most social problems. Town hall housing chiefs, however, say it would be unfair for people in other areas to foot the bill for a scheme which benefits just one estate.