CCTV cameras are to be installed in Glasgow's Merchant City in a crackdown on street crime.

CCTV cameras are to be installed in Glasgow's Merchant City in a crackdown on street crime.

The devices will be erected at nine hotspots in the heart of the city's shopping, drinking and dining district in a £300,000 investment.

One of the cameras will be placed on the edge of Shipbank Lane, home to the historic Paddy's Market, which has been blighted by violent crime, theft and drug offences.

Two are planned for Ingram Street and one each in Cochrane Street, High Street, Bell Street, Trongate, Saltmarket and Parnie Street.

It's part of ongoing efforts to transform the Merchant City which fell into decline in the 1960s but now has luxury flats, nightlife, designer shops and an artistic quarter.

At present the Merchant City has only one CCTV camera, at Glasgow Cross.

The new cameras are being jointly funded by the agency now in charge of the city's CCTV cameras, Glasgow Community and Safety Services and Scottish Enterprise Glasgow.

They will be installed over the next few months and will help both people feel safer, according to Councillor Gordon Matheson whose ward includes the Merchant City.

He said: "We have been campaigning for years to get CCTV coverage in the Merchant City.

"Although the area does not have a huge crime problem, residents do have concerns about noise and anti-social behaviour."

Police statistics show 1926 crimes were committed at or near Paddy's Marketduring 2005/2006.

As the Evening Times reported in August, Councillor Matheson called for the market to be closed, branding it "a crime-ridden midden.".

Welcoming the decision on the cameras, depute council leader Jim Coleman said: "The installation will increase re-assurance for all who live, work, visit and socialise in the area."

Over 300 security cameras cover Glasgow and are monitored at the CCTV base in Blochairn.