DORSET streets are set to be made safer following a large sum of funding from the Home Office.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset has received £266,357 of the the government’s £25million Safer Streets Fund after making two successful bids to the Fund.

New CCTV cameras and an expanded service for victims of burglary are two of the measures set to be implemented across Dorset in a bid to crack down on burglary and theft, with particular focus on funding schemes in the Pokesdown and Boscombe West areas of Bournemouth.

The money from the fund will also be used to improve existing services, including extending existing CCTV provision into both areas as a crime prevention measure and to support police investigations in known hotspots of burglary and related offences.

Money from the fund will also pay towards expanding the Dorset bobby van scheme launched earlier this year, which provides home security to vulnerable victims of burglary.

Police and Crime Commissioner of Dorset Police, Martyn Underhill said: "This funding is great news for residents and really bad news for criminals, whose lives are set to become a lot harder.

"Our bobby van has already made a difference to a lot of peoples’ lives, and has proved so popular it is working at capacity, so a second van providing enhanced security measures to homes is a real result."

Under the existing service, a security operative is able to visit victims in a specially liveried van, sharing advice about security measures and installing devices, including new door and window locks free of charge.

The new funding will pay for a second van and operative to increase availability across the county, with a specific initial focus on targeting vulnerable residents in the two areas of Bournemouth.

It will fund awareness raising campaigns in both areas, encouraging residents to secure their properties.

Three Neighbourhood Watch Schemes – which are known to reduce crime rates – will also be created in each area.

Chief Constable of Dorset Police, James Vaughan said: "This additional funding will allow the Force to continue to expand the work we have already carried out, and help us to provide an outstanding service to the people of Dorset. I am grateful to the PCC and his team for securing this funding."