GREATER Manchester's first `talking' CCTV cameras were going live today.

Speakers have been rigged to 11 cameras along Liverpool Road, Eccles, allowing operators to bark commands at anyone dropping litter or involved in anti-social behaviour.

The government has given Salford £25,000 for the scheme, which will be extended to the Brookhouse estate in Eccles, Ordsall and Winton later this year.

Twenty-one areas throughout the country are sharing £500,000 for identical devices.

Critics have slammed the idea as `Big Brother gone mad'. But Coun David Lancaster, Salford council's spokesman for community safety, who this month had his car stolen from outside the town hall, has welcomed the move.

The theft, from an approach road to a car park in Chorley Road, was captured on CCTV and shows three men in fluorescent jackets taking six minutes to break into the car.

He said: "We are confident this talking CCTV will act as a wake-up call for those who blight our communities and also reassure the responsible majority that unacceptable behaviour will not go un-noticed.

"As a forward-looking city we're never afraid to try new initiatives, and our status as a Respect Action Area gives us the impetus to build on the good work that's already underway to tackle anti-social behaviour."

Chief Supt Kevin Mulligan, head of Salford police, said: "The police and the council are united in support of this new initiative.

"The technology will enhance our ability to tackle all kinds of anti-social behaviour by reminding people we are actively monitoring their actions."

Officers based in a control room in Eccles town centre will operate the cameras.

Louise Casey, the government co-ordinator for the Respect scheme, said: "The new talking CCTV cameras are aimed at the small minority who think it is acceptable to litter our streets, vandalise our communities and damage our properties.

"The new equipment will make an important contribution in reminding people about what is, and what is not, acceptable behaviour and to think twice before acting anti-socially again.

"Middlesbrough's positive experience has shown us that this new technology is a successful additional tool in reducing anti-social behaviour."

Salford is one of 40 areas to be granted Respect Action Area status.

The programme aims to build on what is already being done to tackle anti-social behaviour and to go deeper to tackle its causes.

It wants to encourage local agencies and people to work together to foster a society where people have more respect for one another and their communities.

neal.keeling@men-news.co.uk

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