A TRAFFIC warden is patrolling Thurrock’s streets armed with a security camera.

Thurrock Council has been given one of the cameras, which are worn on the chest, on a free loan from the company Robocam.

The device, which costs in the region of £700, could be rolled out for use by all the borough’s civil enforcement officers if it proves a success.

The Labour-run authority is considering the scheme in light of a rise in formal complaints about the conduct of its wardens, as well as a small rise in the number of assaults on its officers.

A council spokesman said: “Thurrock Council is trialling a chest-mounted security camera, on a free loan from Robocam UK Limited, to evaluate the benefits of the device on the safety and security of Civil Enforcement Officers.

“CEOs face confrontational situations, and occasional assaults.

“The number of formal complaints about alleged conduct of officers is also increasing and the camera footage can be used to resolve disputes.

“The council will ensure the information recorded during the trial is processed in line with requirements of the Data Protection Act.”

The trial has been cautiously welcomed by the Conservative opposition.

Cllr Danny Nicklen, the group’s spokesman for crime, said: “While we welcome the trial and are always willing to look at new effective methods of enforcement, we must carefully monitor and review the scheme before making any future spending commitments.”

Nick Pickles, a director at civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, doesn’t agree with the use of the cameras.

He said: “If there are more complaints against wardens, making them responsible for their own surveillance seems a strange way to solve the problem.

“Even worse, it reinforces the idea that every member of the public is under suspicion. At the very minimum it should be a legal requirement that the member of staff informs the other person that they are being recorded, but in reality it’s just another attack on our privacy and will probably end in a scandal.”