DOOR staff are launching a campaign against plans to cut CCTV  coverage in the city after claiming  it could lead to a big increase in  violence.

Bouncers at Exeter’s nightspots  have rallied together to condemn  the proposed cuts and claim the  move could have a drastic effect on  levels of crime and violence in the  city centre.

As previously reported in the  Echo, the plans have been proposed by cash-strapped Exeter  City Council in a bid to balance its  budget.

The authority wants to slash  positions within the city’s control  room — saving around £50,000 a  year.

But Jim Myers, chairman of  Exeter’s Door Supervisors’ Association, said: “The council wants  to save around £50,000 a year but  when it comes to a life, how much  does a life cost?”

 Police and councillors have already expressed concern at the  controversial plans.

 They claim the move could affect the force’s ability to solve and  prevent crimes.

And the city’s most senior  police officer, Superintendent John Vellacott, has  called for “careful consideration” before the service is  scaled down.

Now doormen are looking  to gather thousands of signatures in opposition to the  proposals as the deadline for  the decision draws closer.

Mr Myers said: “The  CCTV system is a godsend to  door staff and things are running very smoothly in the  city.

“Reducing staff in the control room will have a drastic  effect; there will no doubt be  an increase in violence and  crime. But we won’t know  the full impact of the cuts  until someone gets hurt.”

Mr Myers, who works at  The Angel, in Queen Street,  said cutting CCTV would be  putting both doormen and  the public at risk. “I was  disgusted when I heard  about the plans to reduce  staff in the CCTV control  room,” he said.

“Taxpayers have paid a lot  of money to have a good  system introduced and it  needs to be used to its full  extent. The amount of incidents it has helped to solve  is huge.

“A lot of doormen are very  concerned about these proposals — both for their own  safety and for that of the  public.”

Fellow door supervisor  and city councillor Marcel  Choules has said he will sign  the petition.

 “Every part of the city centre is monitored by CCTV,  particularly at weekends.  Door staff rely on the CCTV  100 per cent, especially when  there is disorder in pubs, or  when doormen or members  of the public get assaulted.  The CCTV picks it all up,” he  said.

“We are putting a lot of  people at risk by cutting it. It  has been successful in solving and preventing stabbings, rapes, robberies and  muggings.

“That needs to be taken  into consideration  when deciding whether to cut manpower in the control room.

“I will be signing the petition and I agree with what  Mr Myers is saying.”

And Councillor Ruth  Smith, the city’s Deputy  Lord Mayor, has pledged her  support to the campaign.

“I think  the door staff in  the city have a difficult  enough job and they need the  back-up of the CCTV,” she  said.

“I’m very concerned about  these cuts and, in actual fact,  there are areas of the city  where more coverage is  needed.

“This is a quick fix option  and I’m sure that a more in-  depth study would show other areas where cuts could be  made instead of in the CCTV  control room.”

Mr Myers said a number  of names had already been  added to the petition.

“We launched the petition  on Friday night and we’re  gathering names from other  door staff, customers and  anyone who happens to be  passing,” he said.

“It has gone very well so  far. We hope to gather as  many signatures as is humanly possible over the next  couple of weeks.”

Reductions to CCTV staff  is just one of a raft of cost-cutting measures proposed by  the council to meet budget  constraints.

Final discussions on the  budget will take place at a  meeting of the full council on  Tuesday, February 23.