Some are 1990 models, seen as outdated and in need of being replaced.

The cost of providing full coverage of the city centre has been estimated at £450,000 to £500,000, including a new control room and integration with urban traffic control cameras.

The proposals have dismayed civil liberties campaigners.

Tony Grogan, of the 1 in 12 Club, a libertarian social club in Bradford, said the cameras gave the police and council the opportunity to put the population under 24-hour surveillance.

The highways committee will discuss the proposals next Tuesday.

Bradford Council is to update city centre closed circuit television coverage and install an extra camera in Keighley Damside area.

Its highways sub-committee agreed yesterday to develop the scheme despite protests.

A new code of conduct will be drawn up in consultation with the police for operators.

The city centre 1 in 12 Club protested that it had not been informed of a review and so had no opportunity to comment.

Member Tony Grogan told the meeting an unqualified student had conducted an evaluation of Bingley and Keighley and wrong conclusions had been reached.

Deb Collett, for Bradford Trades Union Council, said CCTV systems had been abused. A South Wales man used them to target girls for obscene phone calls for two years, she said.

She asked the sub-committee what measures had been put in place to stop abuse.

Sub-committee chairman Councillor Phil Thornton said the Council accepted there had been abuse elsewhere and recognised the need to ensure operations were monitored effectively and operated under strict codes of conduct by well-trained staff.

He said the student mentioned was in the final year of a degree course at Leeds Metropolitan University and under direct supervision.

Officers told the committee a review on use of CCTV showed wholehearted support. Sites suggested by people included old people's flats and cashpoint machines.

But they said a substantial number opposed cameras on civil liberty grounds.

The meeting heard Vodafone had approached the Council with equipment suggestions. In return the company would install its antennae and other equipment at each site free.

The sub-committee decided to develop and improve the network in town and city centres and draw up a code of practice with the police.

After the meeting chairman of the Council's community safety sub-committee Councillor John Ruding said: "We welcome all shades of opinion on this matter. But the majority of people have made it clear that they want and support CCTV and feel safer when it is operating."

The Home Office has announced it is to spend £150 million on the setting up of thousands of closed-circuit television schemes across the country.

And now Otley's MP, Harold Best, is to talk to crime-fighting groups in the town and surrounding communities about whether they could be in line for a slice of the cash.

The announcement has been welcomed by Otley town councillor and chairman of Otley Town Partnership Councillor Phil Coyne.

Coun Coyne, a supporter of CCTV, said: "There is no doubt it contributes to peoples' sense of security and that is quite important for a town centre like Otley."

He added the cameras would have to be sited sensitively so they do not ruin the look of the town centre's conservation area.

"We would not need an enormous number of cameras to cover the town centre and could put cameras at known trouble spots," said Coun Coyne.

The town's Chamber of Trade and Commerce would also like to see CCTV installed and already has a £200 donation from Superdrug to go towards the cost of a system.

Mr Best (Lab, Leeds North West) said: "This money will be welcomed by my constituents as a way of supporting the police and local councils in tackling local crime and disorder.

"I will be speaking to them to see if we should be applying for some of the money that is available."

Mr Best added that CCTV could significantly reduce crime by frightening off criminals and helping police by supplying evidence.

"It deters criminals, helps the police and others bring offenders to justice and reduces people's fear of crime," he said.

Around half of the £150 million announced by Home Secretary Jack Straw will be invested in residential areas. The rest will go on town centres and car parks, including those at bus and railway stations.

But lack of funding is holding up the proposal, principal planning officer Stan Driver has revealed.

Shopkeepers and businesses in Cleckheaton have long called for a CCTV system to help cut crime after seeing their success in neighbouring Batley, Dewsbury and Huddersfield.

Mr Driver said: "Officers have drawn up a scheme to put seven cameras in Cleckheaton and the same number in Heckmondwike at a cost of £120,000 in each town.

"But the Council has not yet decided whether or not to go ahead with the plans because of the expense. Having more cameras would mean employing more staff to monitor them in the control room at Huddersfield. It also costs £4,000 a year per camera to operate the system. There is no point in having the cameras if we can't afford the running costs.

"In other towns we have relied on partnership funding to pay for CCTV. For Dewsbury and Huddersfield the money came from the Single Regeneration Budget funding and for Batley through the City Challenge programme.

"The Home Office has indicated more money will be available for CCTV cameras in areas with community safety partnerships like Kirklees and this could be an opportunity to bid for the funding.''

Councillor Gordon North (Lab, Spen), chairman of the Spen Valley Working Party, said: "We will be pushing for CCTV in Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike in the next financial year but there is no money available this year because the budget is over-subscribed.''

Keith Joplin, president of Spen Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said: "It is critical we have CCTV cameras in Cleckheaton if we are to attract new businesses such as restaurants and café bars.

"Businesses need to know there is some protection if they come to Cleckheaton and that customers feel comfortable. We are also worried that if crime is falling in areas with CCTV cameras, criminals will start moving into places like Cleckheaton.''

Police are carrying out an audit of the city's CCTV systems to build up a database of the resources available.

The review is the idea of Bradford Central crime prevention officer PC Paul Corah, who says the partnership between police and retailers will benefit both parties.

"Not only will this help the police detect offences, it will enable us to work in partnership with local firms, helping them to help themselves in the fight against crime," he said.

Leaflets, sponsored by Kings Security, of Grattan Road, Bradford, will be sent to all retailers and businesses in the city centre, asking for details of the CCTV systems they have.

Advice will also be available on installing and running security systems to ensure businesses are getting the best return from their investment.

There are dozens of CCTV cameras in operation across the city centre, installed by both the local authority and businesses who want to protect their stores.

PC Corah said: "A robbery might have occurred in a building society in which the criminal had his face covered by a balaclava.

"But another camera may have captured the robber a few minutes earlier in the process of putting the balaclava on. The database will make it quicker and easier to track down this vital piece of footage."

The audit is being carried out by City Centre Beat, a partnership uniting Bradford Central Police with local business.

The partnership aims to reduce crime and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives or works in or visits the city centre.

Anthony King, managing director of King's Security Systems Limited, said the company had close links with the police. He said the company was approached by officers to help with surveillance on a local bank, using its latest technology.

"Working in partnership with local security companies, the police appear to be winning the fight against crime in the area," he added.

The meeting is a response to a bomb threat targeting Bradford and claiming to be from the extreme right-wing organisation Combat 18.

The group has already been linked with two nail-bomb attacks on successive Saturday afternoons in London.

Security will now be stepped up in Bradford.

West Yorkshire Police have taken advice from Scotland Yard colleagues and have asked people to be specially vigilant and report anything suspicious.

A meeting is being arranged between the police and Bradford Council to work out ways of minimising risks.

Councillor Mohammed Ajeeb, deputy leader of the Council, said: "I have been in touch with Inspector Martin Baines, the community race relations officer, and he has promised to arrange a meeting at assistant chief constable level.

"It will also involve our chief executive, Council leader

Ian Greenwood and officers dealing with CCTV and community safety.

"Then we can see if we can jointly devise a plan."

Officials would look at how the city's CCTV system might be used to reduce risks, said Councillor Ajeeb. Measures such as the removal or sealing of rubbish bins were also possible.

"We need to nip any risk in the bud," he said.

Bradford South Labour MP Gerry Sutcliffe has added his voice to calls for vigilance. He said there had been "long-standing concern" about the activities of Combat 18 in West Yorkshire.

It was important that the police remained "resolute."

Ateeq Siddique, of the Bradford Racial Equality Council, said: "Bradford has a fantastic tradition of anti-racism and anti-fascism and people must now be vigilant."

The Otley Town Watch group is getting quotes on the costs of installing and maintaining three cameras. Now the Chamber of Trade is also seeking support for the cameras.

Chamber vice president and chairman of Otley Town Watch, Sylvia Reid, said police had arranged a demonstration of how CCTV could be used.

She said: "By and large we were very impressed with the potential of what these cameras can actually capture on screen.

"We have asked for a quote from a company for what it would cost us to set up three cameras and to maintain them. I have got an awful feeling that quote is going to be expensive, but unless we find out, we won't know whether we can afford them."

Mrs Reid said that she had written to Otley's MP, Harold Best (Labour, Leeds North West) and Chamber president Tonia Hearne said that Mr Best was likely to attend a Chamber meeting in the near future.

Mrs Hearne said that for such a costly project, there needed to be an alliance of groups within the town to press forward.

She said: "It is going to have to be done working with as many groups as possible. I think it is extremely important to get as many different views as we can."

Honorary chamber member Stan Beadle said: "People say we can't afford it but we have reached the stage where we can't afford not to have it."

Mrs Reid said it was still an ambition to see every trader and business in the town becoming a member of the Town Watch group.

Town Watch stationery was being designed and produced with the aid of an Otley Town Council grant, which would be launched at the next group meeting in June.

She added: "It has encouraged us to begin asking ourselves where we can actually get more money from. If anybody has any more active ideas for fundraising, then please let us know."