Residents win campaign for CCTV outside Hampstead milkshake bar

RESIDENTS of Heath Street and the nearby area have won an appeal for a CCTV camera to be installed to monitor a milkshake bar they say is a source of anti-social behaviour.

After years of campaigning against the alcohol-free late-night Tinseltown diner, and filming customers who allegedly engage in anti-social behaviour there, residents had their efforts rewarded when Camden Council agreed to install a �22,000 camera on Heath Street in Hampstead to capture evidence of bad behaviour.

The restaurant, which opens until 3am on some nights, attracts mostly under-18s. Residents in nearby roads, particularly the adjoining New End, say they have been beset with problems since it opened in 2005.

They say these include youngsters vomiting in their gardens, throwing milkshakes against their doors, fighting in the street and creating litter and parking problems.

Hampstead councillor Kirsty Roberts has backed the residents' campaign for a camera.

She said: "We have notified some residents already and they are delighted. As far as I am concerned this shouldn't be the end of the matter and this will be the first success of many [in] dealing with issues there. I think this will act as a deterrent but if there are incidents we will have an evidential basis for them as well."

Tinseltown's managing director Suhail Hasan has previously defended his restaurant, claiming problems do not come from the diner.

He has also said in the Ham&High that the majority of the complainers are "old farts who think they can control Hampstead" but would not comment this week on the installation of the cameras.

Cllr Chris Knight, who also backed the campaign, says it will bring peace and quiet back to Hampstead. "We have been down every road to try to sort out the problems with Tinseltown - I hope it will stop people disturbing residents there," he said. "Knowing CCTV is there, people will be on their best behaviour.