A rise in verbal and physical abuse towards Island Roads staff has led to plans to install CCTV cameras at selected road closure sites across the Isle of Wight.

The cameras will be used to help ensure closures are followed and on-site staff and pedestrians are not put at risk by motorists who ignore signs.

Placed at either end of selected road closures, the cameras are PACE (Police And Criminal Evidence act 1984) compliant, meaning footage taken can be used to assist prosecutions.

Steve Ashman, Island Roads service director, said: “First and foremost, the road closures are there to keep the public safe and to allow our staff to complete their work safely and as quickly as possible.

“While the overwhelming majority of road users do observe road closures and are courteous to the staff who work on site, we have seen an increase both in road users ignoring road closures and in abuse – both physical and verbal – directed at our staff.

“All our traffic management staff and operatives live on the Island and they appreciate as well as anyone the frustrations road closures bring. Like any other workers, they have a right to be able to go to work and to not experience such abuse which we cannot and will not tolerate.

"We hope these cameras will act as a deterrent to prevent this from happening but it will also enable us to act to support our staff if we need to prosecute individuals who do not treat our staff with respect or who put others’ lives in danger.”

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Island Roads has said road closures are legal restrictions put in place both to allow staff to work safely and also to keep members of the public away from hazards – such as deep excavations and hot materials – that are common on our work sites.

Island Roads said it appreciates that the number of roadworks are currently high.

Part of the reason for this is that, as required by the PFI contract,  Island Roads tries to avoid major work during the busy summer months which are crucial to the tourism industry. This means the periods either side of summer are used more and this avoids winter working when the inclement weather is more likely to cause delays.